In-Text References

Literary and Philosophical References

The Constitution (directly referenced in line 136; several indirect references)

Historical and Political References

Berlin Wall (22)
Bay of Pigs Invasion (23)
Laos (24)
Vietnam (25, 65, 68)
NATO (26)
Formosa Straits (59)
Lebanon (59)
Korea (64)

Name Drops

Richard Nixon (1)
Pat Nixon (1)
Stephanie Miller (1)
Thurston Morton (1)
Herbert Hoover (1)
Dwight Eisenhower (1, 58, 59)
Mamie Eisenhower (1)
Peggy Goldwater (mentioned indirectly) (1)
God (9, 14, 44, 53)
Commander-in-Chief (Lyndon Johnson) (69)
Secretary of Defense (Robert McNamara) (70)
Abraham Lincoln (127)

References to The Text

There are boatloads of books and articles that talk about this speech. Some were even written by Barry Goldwater himself. We've included a choice few examples here, but a simple Google search leads to about sixty gazillion more.

Literary and Philosophical References

John Fund, "The Value of 'Extremism in the Defense of Liberty"
Barry Goldwater, Barry Goldwater
Rick Perlstein, Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus

Historical and Political References

Barry quotes himself (and, by extension, Cicero) in his 1984 address to the GOP Convention.