Abstract
This dissertation explores how struggles among labor unions, Mexican workers, and Sunbelt entrepreneurs shaped modern conservatism. Chronicling the business culture of Arizona in the twentieth century, I argue that an anti-labor ideology formed out of conflicts among entrepreneurs, labor unions, and Mexican workers before World War II, led to the politicization of many Arizona entrepreneurs, and the enshrinement in the local business culture and politics of an anti-labor ideology that contributed to the rise of modern conservatism. Opposed to the New Deal and to the political influence of labor unions, Arizona’s entrepreneurial conservatives, such as Barry Goldwater, developed a successful Republican Party after World War II devoted to limiting the political power of labor. In later years, the entrepreneurial conservatism of the Sunbelt, exemplified by Senator Barry Goldwater and President Ronald Reagan, would play a critical role in the rise of the Right in national politics and economic life.
As a work of political history and Western history, this dissertation highlights two important processes: How did anti-labor ideology and the presence of Mexican workers shape conservatism in the Southwest? I argue that from the beginning of the twentieth century, the presence of Mexican workers (and the proximity of Mexico) weakened the labor movement in Arizona, and contributed to the development of a local entrepreneurial culture that prized low wages and non-unionized labor. Outnumbered by the Democrats, Arizona’s Republican Party pursued an inclusionary conservatism targeted to sell the ideas of reform and opportunity to all classes and races. With a message crafted in a diverse environment, Arizonans played an important role in developing a national conservative movement as their anti-labor and small government message went mainstream.
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