After World War II ended, Arizona boomed as modern comforts made life in the desert more palatable. The state’s growth brought political upheaval and largely reinforced a social obliviousness to civil rights.

As the state grew, it shed its loyalty to Democrats in favor of a conservatism marked with anti-Communist zealotry. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wisconsin, held the nation in a grip of fear over alleged communist infiltration at the highest levels in the U.S. government and military. He found a reliable ally in Arizona’s Barry Goldwater. 

He came to define a new brand of politics and governance that culminated in Goldwater’s 1964 presidential run. His supporters included fringe groups such as the John Birch Society and a willingness to ignore the call for civil rights at a time when it was a rising national movement. Arizona offered a mixed record on civil rights that left Goldwater unmoved.

His presidential run ended in defeat, but it also helped plant ideological seeds for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 triumph. Back home in Arizona, voters sent Goldwater back to Washington for another three terms.

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