Eagle Forum

Eagle Forum is an American conservative advocacy organization founded by Phyllis Schlafly and associated with socially conservative, pro-family political activism. Its most consequential early campaign was opposition to the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the United States Constitution. The organization developed from Schlafly's wider conservative fundraising and communications work and became one of the most recognizable grassroots opponents of the ERA during the 1970s. Schlafly established the Eagle Trust Fund in 1967 to receive donations supporting conservative causes. After Congress approved the ERA in 1972 and sent it to the states for ratification, she reorganized her campaign as STOP ERA, an acronym for “Stop Taking Our Privileges,” and began publishing the Eagle Forum Newsletter. STOP ERA mobilized conservative women, church groups, and state-level activists around the argument that the amendment could remove legal protections and customary family-support obligations for women. In 1975, STOP ERA adopted the name Eagle Forum. The movement became part of the emerging New Right, a conservative coalition that placed social and cultural questions alongside traditional economic and national-security concerns. Eagle Forum's activism has generally emphasized socially conservative positions. The organization has supported English-language instruction in schools, opposed federal support for daycare and comprehensive sex education, opposed abortion rights and same-sex marriage, and promoted a family model centered on a married father, mother, and children. It has also defended homemaking as a legitimate choice for women and criticized elements of the feminist movement. Critics have characterized the group as anti-feminist, anti-LGBT, ultraconservative, or part of the far right, while Eagle Forum presents itself as a pro-family organization defending parental authority, traditional social norms, and national sovereignty. The ERA campaign gave Eagle Forum a nationwide organizational network. STOP ERA protested at the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston and worked through state legislatures, testimony, newsletters, local chapters, and conservative religious networks. Although the amendment secured substantial early support, it failed to obtain ratification by the required number of states before the deadline and its later extension. Eagle Forum therefore became closely identified with a successful conservative effort to block the amendment's original ratification timetable. The organization has continued to oppose subsequent ERA ratification efforts, including those involving Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia; a federal court ruled in 2021 that the original deadline had expired. Eagle Forum operates alongside related nonprofit and political entities. The Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund was organized in 1981 as a tax-deductible charitable affiliate, while the Eagle Forum Political Action Committee supports political activity and candidates. The organization also sponsors the Eagle Council, an annual conservative training and networking event. Youth and education initiatives have included Teen Eagles for students aged 13 to 19, Eagle Forum Collegians for conservative college students, and an Eagle Forum University project. State chapters, including Utah Eagle Forum, have extended the network into local and state politics. The organization has often worked within or alongside the Republican Party. Its members have participated in party leadership and platform debates, and its state organizations have influenced conservative policy discussions. Leadership tensions became especially visible after Eagle Forum endorsed Ted Cruz in the 2016 presidential campaign while Schlafly and other board members supported Donald Trump. The dispute led several directors and Schlafly family members to leave and establish Phyllis Schlafly Eagles and a related political action committee. Litigation and public disputes followed over mailing lists, the use of Schlafly's name and image, and organizational affiliation. Despite those divisions, Eagle Forum remains an active American conservative advocacy brand focused on social policy, education, family issues, abortion, gender politics, and constitutional questions.

Eagle Forum grew out of Phyllis Schlafly's conservative organizing and fundraising. In 1967, Schlafly created the Eagle Trust Fund to collect contributions for conservative causes. The organization took its defining shape after Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972 and submitted it to the states. Schlafly established STOP ERA, using the phrase “Stop Taking Our Privileges,” and launched the Eagle Forum Newsletter to distribute arguments against ratification. STOP ERA argued that the amendment could eliminate sex-specific legal protections and alter established assumptions about family support, military service, education, and public policy. These arguments were circulated through newsletters, speeches, church networks, local activists, and direct contact with state legislators. Within its first year, the movement had attracted several thousand participants. In 1975, STOP ERA was renamed Eagle Forum, creating a broader organizational identity that could encompass opposition to the ERA and other conservative social issues. During the 1970s, Eagle Forum became associated with the New Right and the growing Christian-right movement. The organization opposed the ERA at state legislative hearings and helped organize conservative resistance to the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, where Schlafly and Indiana state senator Joan Gubbins formed a pro-life, pro-family coalition. The ERA reached the original 1979 deadline without the additional state ratifications required for adoption. Congress later extended the deadline, but no further states ratified the amendment during the extension. By the time the amendment's original campaign ended, Eagle Forum's membership had reportedly reached approximately 50,000. The organization expanded its institutional structure in 1981, when the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund was organized as a tax-deductible charitable affiliate. Eagle Forum also maintained a political action committee and developed conferences, state chapters, newsletters, and educational activities. In 1994, its political action committee reported raising funds for congressional candidates. The organization continued to work within conservative and Republican networks, including through state-level party leadership. Cathie Adams, identified with the Texas Eagle Forum, became Republican national committeewoman for Texas in 2008 and interim chair of the Republican Party of Texas in 2009. In the mid-2000s, Eagle Forum joined the John Birch Society in opposing proposals associated with a North American Union and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. The two organizations supported state legislative resolutions condemning those initiatives and framed them as threats to national sovereignty. Eagle Forum also continued its long-standing social-policy agenda, including opposition to abortion rights, same-sex marriage, federal daycare support, and sex education, while supporting English-only education and traditional family structures. Leadership succession became contentious in the 2010s. Ed Martin was appointed to succeed Schlafly as president in 2015 but was removed in 2016. That year, Eagle Forum endorsed Ted Cruz for president, while Schlafly and several board members favored Donald Trump. The conflict divided the leadership and involved some of Schlafly's children. The departing faction formed Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, another 501(c)(4) organization, and Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle PAC. Court disputes concerned mailing lists, the use of Schlafly's name and likeness, and claims about which organization represented her legacy. In 2017, Eagle Forum stated that Ed Martin, John Schlafly, Andy Schlafly, and Kathleen Sullivan no longer had a connection with the organization. Eagle Forum has continued to operate through its national organization, state chapters, conservative training events, youth programs, and affiliated nonprofit structures. The Eagle Council serves as an annual training and networking event for conservative speakers and activists. Teen Eagles and Eagle Forum Collegians extend the organization's educational and recruitment work to secondary-school and college-age participants. The group's historical identity remains closely tied to Schlafly's successful opposition to the ERA's original ratification process, while its continuing advocacy covers social conservatism, family policy, abortion, education, gender, and constitutional questions.

• 2021

  Court rejects late ERA ratifications under original timetable

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  A federal court held that the ERA ratification deadline had expired and that later state ratifications could not be counted under that deadline.

• 2017

  Eagle Forum disavows several former leaders

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  The organization stated that Ed Martin, John Schlafly, Andy Schlafly, and Kathleen Sullivan were no longer connected with Eagle Forum.

• 2016

  Presidential endorsement triggers organizational split

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  Eagle Forum endorsed Ted Cruz while Schlafly and other directors supported Donald Trump, contributing to the creation of Phyllis Schlafly Eagles.

• 2015

  Ed Martin appointed president

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  Ed Martin was appointed to succeed Phyllis Schlafly as president, although he was removed from the position the following year.

• 2009

  Cathie Adams becomes interim Texas Republican chair

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  Adams was selected as interim chair of the Republican Party of Texas.

• 2008

  Texas affiliate leader joins Republican national committee

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  Texas Eagle Forum chair Cathie Adams became the Republican national committeewoman for Texas.

• 1994

  Political action committee raises candidate funds

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  Eagle Forum's political action committee reported raising funds for Senate and House candidates.

• 1981

  Education and Legal Defense Fund organized

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  The Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund was established as a charitable nonprofit affiliate.

• 1977

  Opposition at the National Women's Conference

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  Eagle Forum activists protested the National Women's Conference in Houston and organized a pro-life, pro-family coalition against its proposed policy agenda.

• 1975

  STOP ERA renamed Eagle Forum

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  The anti-ERA organization adopted the broader Eagle Forum name.

• 1972

  STOP ERA campaign begins

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  After the Equal Rights Amendment was submitted to the states, Schlafly organized STOP ERA and began publishing the Eagle Forum Newsletter.

• 1967

  Eagle Trust Fund established

  [1]Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org

  Phyllis Schlafly created the Eagle Trust Fund to receive donations for conservative causes, providing an institutional precursor to later Eagle Forum activity.

A socially conservative, pro-family grassroots advocacy organization focused on mobilizing activists around family policy, abortion, education, gender, constitutional issues, and national sovereignty.

• Publication · 1972

  Eagle Forum Newsletter

  A political newsletter launched during the STOP ERA campaign to distribute Schlafly's arguments against the Equal Rights Amendment and communicate conservative policy positions to activists and supporters.

• Conference and training program

  Eagle Council

  An annual Eagle Forum event focused on training conservative speakers, connecting activists, and presenting arguments on social, constitutional, and political issues.

• Youth program

  Teen Eagles

  A youth initiative for participants aged approximately 13 to 19, intended to introduce younger members to Eagle Forum's conservative civic and policy activities.

• Student program

  Eagle Forum Collegians

  A program for conservative-minded college students that extends Eagle Forum's organizing and educational work into higher education settings.

• Grassroots network

  State Eagle Forum chapters

  State-level organizations that carry Eagle Forum's advocacy into local legislatures, elections, public policy debates, and conservative community networks.

• 2016

  Leadership and affiliation dispute

  A conflict over the 2016 presidential endorsement divided Eagle Forum leaders and led to the creation of Phyllis Schlafly Eagles. Related court disputes addressed mailing lists, the use of Schlafly's name and image, and competing claims of organizational affiliation.

  Source

Read more

• 2000Opposition to a North American Union

  United States

  Eagle Forum worked with the John Birch Society to mobilize conservative opposition to proposals described by activists as moving toward a North American Union and to the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.

  Outcome. Bills condemning the concept were introduced in numerous state legislatures, while the issue remained a recurring conservative sovereignty campaign.

  Source
• 1977Pro-life, pro-family opposition at the National Women's Conference

  United States

  Eagle Forum activists opposed the proposed National Plan of Action at the Houston conference, arguing that it was hostile to traditional family arrangements and conservative social values.

  Outcome. The action helped publicize Eagle Forum's opposition to feminist policy priorities and strengthen its pro-family identity.

  Source
• 1972STOP ERA

  United States

  Eagle Forum's foundational campaign opposed ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. It used newsletters, grassroots organizing, church networks, public testimony, and direct lobbying of state legislators.

  Outcome. The ERA did not receive the required number of state ratifications within the original deadline and its extension.

  Source

• 2021

  Maintained opposition to late ERA ratificationOther

  Background

  Several states later ratified or supported the ERA after the original congressional deadline and its extension.

  Action taken

  Eagle Forum continued to oppose counting those ratifications under the expired timetable.

  Aftermath

  A federal court ruled that the deadline had expired and that the later ratifications were too late to count under that framework.

  Source

• 2016

  Endorsed Ted Cruz in the presidential campaignStrategy

  Background

  Eagle Forum made a 2016 presidential endorsement while Phyllis Schlafly and other board members supported Donald Trump.

  Action taken

  The organization endorsed Ted Cruz, contributing to a leadership rupture.

  Aftermath

  Departing leaders formed Phyllis Schlafly Eagles and a related political action committee, followed by litigation and public disputes.

  Source

• 1981

  Created a charitable education and legal-defense affiliateStrategy

  Background

  Eagle Forum needed an institutional structure for tax-deductible educational and legal activities.

  Action taken

  The Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund was organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate.

  Aftermath

  The affiliate complemented Eagle Forum's 501(c)(4) advocacy structure and political action committee.

  Source

• 1975

  Broadened STOP ERA into Eagle ForumStrategy

  Background

  The organization had initially been formed around defeating the Equal Rights Amendment.

  Action taken

  STOP ERA was renamed Eagle Forum, creating a wider platform for conservative social and political advocacy.

  Aftermath

  The new identity supported expansion into family policy, education, abortion, gender issues, and national sovereignty.

  Source

1. 1Eagle Forumen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Eagle Forum official websiteeagleforum.org
3. 3Eagle Forum 501(c)(4) nonprofit recordsprojects.propublica.org