Howard Phillips was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1941. The son of Jewish parents, he later converted to Christianity, and remained a devout Christian to the end of his life. He married Margaret “Peggy” Blanchard and together they raised six children.
A 1962 graduate of Harvard College in Cambridge Massachusetts, he was twice elected as chairman of the Student Council.
During the 1970s and ’80s, Phillips also coordinated efforts to build private sector support for anti-Communist freedom fighters in Central America and southern Africa. He played an instrumental role in the leadership of the New Right and Religious Right political movements. Phillips led geostrategic fact-finding missions to Eastern Europe, Africa, the Baltic States, South America, Central America, Western Europe, and the Far East.
During the Nixon Administration, Phillips headed two Federal agencies, ending his Executive Branch career as Director of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity in the Executive Office of the President, a position from which he resigned when President Nixon reneged on his commitment to veto further funding for “Great Society” programs.
Howard Phillips founded the U.S. Taxpayers Party (USTP) in 1992 to offer America leadership committed to restoring the Federal Republic to its delegated, enumerated Constitutional functions and returning American jurisprudence to its original “common law” Biblical foundations. Phillips was nominated in 1992 and 1996 to be the USTP candidate for President of the United States. In 1999, the name of the US Taxpayer’s Party was changed to “Constitution Party” to better reflect the party’s primary focus of returning government to the U.S. Constitution’s provisions and limitations, and Howard Phillips was chosen to be its 2000 Presidential candidate.
Phillips also served as President of The Conservative Caucus Research, Analysis & Education Foundation.
Author of four books: The New Right at Harvard (1983), Moscow’s Challenge to U.S. Vital Interests in Sub-Saharan Africa (1987), The Next Four Years (1992), and Victory 2000 (1999).
Awards:
- The June 1982 Eagle Forum Award for leadership in the pro-family cause, and “steadfast opposition to the mischief of the federally-financed feminists.”
- The National Association of Pro-America 1983 Award for “promoting Constitutional government”.
- The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools Award, 1995.
- The Strategic Resource Group’s William Wilberforce Award for “Ministry to the Nation/Public Policy” in September, 1996.
- The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty conferred upon him the title of “Patriot” in May 2002.
America truly lost one of her most valiant patriots with the passing of Howard Phillips in April of 2013. Thank you, Howie, for carving the path for us to follow in re-establishing the American Constitutional Republic. May we live up to your vision and the vision of the Founders of these United States of America.