Thursday, July 16, 1964: 'Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice'

Accepting the Republican nomination for president, Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater tells delegates at the GOP national convention in San Francisco:

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

The "extremism" issue had come largely from New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, whose pursuit of the GOP nomination failed as his party embraced more conservative views. Rockefeller (and in turn, the Democrats) warned that the Goldwater forces were a threat to peace and progress.

Resources

* Video of speech (C-SPAN via NBC): @ and @

* Transcript of speech (Washington Post via Arizona Historical Foundation): @

* New York Times story, July 15: @

* Associated Press story, July 17 (note error in headline, which says "pursuit of happiness" instead of "pursuit of justice"): @

* United Press International story, July 17: @

* Life magazine, July 24: @

* "Goldwater Clarifies 'Extremism' " (Associated Press, August 10): @

* Party platform (American Presidency Project): @

* Video of first part of Rockefeller speech to the convention (C-SPAN): @

* Audio of entire speech (pastdaily.com): @
* "Remarks on extremism at the 1964 Republican National Convention" (July 14; Rockefeller Archive Center; note: prepared remarks differ from speech): @ and @

* "The 1964 Republican Campaign" ("The Rockefellers," PBS): @

* "Margaret Chase Smith for President" (Maine History Online): @

* "1964: The Conventions" (U.S. Information Agency): @

* "The Delegate" (documentary, National Educational Television): @

* 1964 campaign commercials (The Living Room Candidate, Museum of the Modern Image): @
* "Election of 1964" (from "Presidential Campaigns: Documents Decoded," Daniel M. Shea and Brian M. Harward, 2013): @

* "Overviews & Chronologies: 1964" (Presidential Campaigns & Elections Reference): @

* "LBJ Fights the White Backlash: The Racial Politics of the 1964 Presidential Campaign" (Jeremy D. Mayer, Prologue magazine, National Archives): @

* "1964 Republican Convention: Revolution From The Right" (Rick Perlstein, Smithsonian magazine, August 2008): @

* "Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus" (Perlstein, 2001): @

* "Turning Right in the Sixties: The Conservative Capture of the GOP" (Mary C. Brennan, 1995): @

* Review of "Turning Right" (Matthew Dallek, The Atlantic, 1995): @

* "The Rise of the Counter-Establishment: The Conservative Ascent to Political Power" (Sidney Blumenthal, 2008): @

* "Barry Goldwater and the Remaking of the American Political Landscape" (edited by Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, 2013): @ 

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