Grassroots power: the Utah Eagle Forum, 1972-2009

How and why has a group of conservative housewives become the most powerful lobbying group in one of the most populous states in the Mountain West? Since its founding in 1972, the Eagle Forum has risen to prominence as a dominant force in Utah state politics. This formidable conservative grassroots social movement shaped legislation, influenced elections, and advocated an agenda that is unwavering in its support of families, Christianity and small government. The Utah Eagle Forum's power is unparalleled by other state chapters of the organization. This thesis explores the efforts of housewife-activists to advance conservative agendas at local and state levels of government in Utah. In a complex milieu of Mormonism, Western libertarianism, changing gender roles and shifting national politics, the Utah Eagle Forum has assumed the role of moral "watchdog" over state politics. From its beginnings as a single issue organization opposed to the ERA, to its efforts to form coalitions empowering housewives with a voice in politics, its cultivation of a phone tree an efficient statewide mobilization tool and a notorious reputation for vigilant legislative lobbying, the Utah Eagle Forum is an example of the possibilities for right wing women's activism in a conservative political environment. This paper dramatically expands historians' understanding of the Eagle Forum at the local level as it explores the roles and activities of conservative women in twentieth-century American social movements.