Goldwater had argued in The Conscience of a Conservative in 1960 that although he was "in agreement with the objectives of the Supreme Court as stated in the Brown decision," he was not prepared "to impose that judgment of mine on the people of Mississippi or South Carolina." Asserting that the Constitution did not permit any federal interference in the fi eld of education, he had concluded that the issue was "their business, not mine." Goldwater built on that argument when he prominently announced his opposition to the civil rights bill of 1964. At the time Friedman expressed a belief that Goldwater’s perspective was "excellent" and a true manifestation of the concept of "equal treatment of all, regardless of race."

Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, loc. 508