To say Dr. Lee Edwards was influential would be an understatement. For so many of us, he was someone to look up to, a mentor and a friend.
Witnessing Hungarian students form a revolution against communism in 1956–and the death toll reaching the thousands–he dedicated his life to freedom and the fight against communism.
In 1960, Edwards helped found Young Americans for Freedom, which was officially at the signing of the Sharon Statement in the living room of William F. Buckley Jr. In the years that followed, he founded and directed The New Guard, the prolific magazine of Young Americans for Freedom.
In 1963, Dr. Edwards joined Senator Barry Goldwater’s Presidential campaign as news director of the Draft Goldwater Committee. Working throughout Goldwater’s bid for President, he uncovered President Lyndon B. Johnson’s use of the FBI to wiretap his opponent’s campaign.
A leading historian of American conservatism, Dr. Edwards was an adjunct professor at The Catholic University of America, founding Chairman of The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a distinguished fellow in conservative thought at The Heritage Foundation, and an author or editor of more than 25 books.
In July of 2015, Young America’s Foundation presented Dr. Edwards with the Legend of YAF Award. He was among the first YAF alumni to receive this lifetime achievement recognition, celebrating his accomplishments and contributions to the Conservative Movement.
Young America’s Foundation President Governor Scott Walker stated, “Dr. Edward’s dedicated his career to exposing the horrors of Communism and the stories of its victims. May he rest in peace.”
Former YAF President Ron Robinson reflected on Dr. Edward’s lifelong commitment to the cause of freedom, noting,
Lee set the standard for mentoring young conservatives. From his days as New Guard editor, Goldwater press secretary, sponsor of local conservative luncheons, through his years at the Heritage Foundation and the Victims of Communism Memorial, Dr. Edwards relentlessly encouraged and inspired successive generations of activists.
His dedication to YAF, the Conservative Movement, and the many lives he impacted underscore that he was not only a great man, but a truly good one. Dr. Lee Edwards will truly be missed.
The following appeared in the first issue (March 1961) of The New Guard, edited by Edwards, explaining “why” the publication was launched:
Ten years ago this magazine would not have been possible. Twenty years ago it would not have been dreamed of. Thirty-five years ago it would not have been necessary. Today, The New Guard is possible, it is a reality, and it is needed by the youth of America to proclaim loudly and clearly: We are sick unto death of collectivism, socialism, statism, and other utopian isms which have poisoned the minds, weakened the wills and smothered the spirits of Americans for three decades and more.
Thirty-five years ago Americans believed in themselves and in the institutions and traditions which had brought them to a broad plateau of power and prosperity. But something went wrong–not so much with the system as with its members and a Great Depression settled over the Nation like a cold blanket of fog. A self-confident political leader rubbed his ambition against his personality and ignited a small area around him. For eight years he struck match after match of statism and collectivism until finally the fog lifted–when the United States went to war.
Twenty years ago The New Guard would have remained a dream for the educators had done their job well. Liberalism was the banner on nearly every campus from the East Coast to the West, and it was agreed in a thousand rathskellers but a little while more and utopia would be here.
Ten years ago the first open rebellion appeared. How long do we have to wait? asked the more impatient ones. How much more do we have to give up? demanded the more philosophical. In the past decade organizations like the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists were formed; magazines like National Review and Modern Age were published; and only last September, 1960, Young Americans for Freedom was born.
The statement of principles adopted then, the Sharon Statement, is brief and to the point: it upholds and affirms “certain eternal truths,” among them, man’s God-given free will, the interdependence of economic and political freedom, the efficacy of the market economy and the need for enlightened self-interest in foreign policy.
The New Guard will publicize and promote all activities of Young Americans and young Americans who extend these “eternal truths.” It will be non-partisan only in the sense that it will not align itself with any particular party or group. It will, however, support and actively work for men and women in both parties who believe in these truths.
Action is the key word and principal motivation of Young Americans for Freedom and this publication. One has only to make the most cursory examination of our Nation and of the world to know that action is imperative for our preservation and that of the world.
So far we have not used the word “conservative” but do so now. The New Guard is “conservative” in our sense of the word, which we define as believing in and desiring to extend those principles responsible for the greatness of this Republic.
We anticipate a certain measure of opposition and even ridicule, both of which we welcome. The tide of conservatism is rising all over the United States, and we will rise with it leaving behind those unfortunates still chained to the rotting posts of “liberalism,” collectivism, and statism. If they wish to sacrifice themselves for a lost cause, let them do so. Nevertheless, we offer them the pincers of liberty, individualism and initiative to free themselves of chains as rusty as the shibboleths which undoubtedly our opponents will attempt to wrap around us.
With this issue, we extend to every young American an invitation to help build an Ark which will carry America to the highest peak of all.
