As is always the case, politics brings out a lot of rhetoric, talking points, and these days, bite sized memes that are used to win political points and make an argument. Some are valid and factually correct, some are not. Some are simply hazy and over simplified. And some are just guano.
Recently, a lot about Hillary Clinton's past as a "Goldwater Girl", which was a young female supporter of Goldwater's 1964 campaign for President, is being presented often in a way that paints her in a negative light. The argument behind it is that he was a Segregationist in the vein of Governor George Wallace of Alabama and her support of him raises questions about her views on race.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON'S POLICIES, ACTIONS, OR BELIEFS. IT IS ABOUT BARRY GOLDWATER'S
If we remove ourselves from the rhetoric and back and forth's in this campaign and take a critical look at Goldwater's legacy in context, is the position that he was a segregationist and/or racist a fair one of him? Please, leave the current election as well as Hillary Clinton out of this, it's not about her, it's about Goldwater.
As /u/MichaelPenn points out, the first real modern Republican use of racial "dogwhistles" (at least as far as I'm aware) come from this period.
However, Goldwater himself denounced the Klan (who were very popular in some Southern States that the Republicans hoped to possibly put into play) even after they formally endorsed him. Here's a newspaper from the time:
In rejecting support of the Klan, Mr. Goldwater seemed to have overruled both Mr. Miller [his VP candidate] and the new Republican National Chairman, Dean Burch. In recent days both of them have said that the Republicans would not reject the support of Klansmen.
[...]However, some persons at the breakfast session reported it had produced a dramatic confrontation between Mr. Goldwater and Senator Jacob K. Javits of New York.
It's left unsaid in the article, because everyone could read between the lines, but it's probably worth noting that Javits is a Jew and a Rockefeller Republican, that is, from the other wing of the party from Goldwater. The Rockefeller Republicans are mainly based in Northern urban areas. They tend to be cosmopolitan and have favorable views towards civil rights. Goldwater is seeking their support (they're incredibly skeptical of him) at the same time he is trying to break into the Democratic "Solid South". Javits specifically was one of those who up to the convention in July (this article is from August) was trying to secure an alternative, any alternative, to Goldwater. The article continues:
Mr. Javits called for a repudiation by the Republican party of the Ku Klux Klan and asserted that the temper of the Republican campaign was being affected because segregationists were rallying to Mr. Goldwater's banner.
Javits In Clash
He broached the subject of the Ku Klux Klan while saying that Mr. Miller and Mr. Burch had said the party would accept the support of members of the Klan.
It is not enough, Senator Javits said, to say that the party welcomed the support of all voters. It should also reject the Klan and what it stands for.
Some sources said there was a tense silence.
Miller Explains Views
Mr. Miller was reported to have replied that he did not condemn individuals who were members of the Klan, although he, naturally would not accept the support of the organization itself.
Mr. Goldwater spoke more strongly, saying he was against the Klan and what it stood for. Mr. Goldwater added that he was against the principles and actions of Robert H. W. Welch Jr., the founder‐president of the John Birch Society, but that there were decent people within that latter organization.
Mr. Miller was reported to have said that his “own mother” might have joined the Birch Society if it had been described to her in the simple anti‐Communist terms in which it was described to most new members.
Senator Javits later issued a public statement to newsmen. It said:
“On July 21, in announcing that I must in conscience withhold my support from the national Republican ticket at this time, I also stated that I would be willing to reconsider this position, but ‘this will call for some action by Senator Goldwater.’ Accordingly I attended the breakfast primarily to listen. My position as stated in my statement of July 21 remains unchanged.”
Javits, if I'm correct, never ended up endorsing Goldwater, the candidate from his own party, and Goldwater definitely only won his home state of Arizona and five states of the Deep South.
(Continued below)