John Birch Society

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John Birch Society
Formation1958
TypePolitical advocacy group
HeadquartersGrand Chute, Wisconsin
Region served
United States
CEO
Arthur Thompson
Websitehttp://www.jbs.org/

The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, Americentrism, and "personal freedom".[1]

It was founded in 1958 by Robert W. Welch Jr. (1899-1985), who developed an elaborate infrastructure that enabled him to keep a very tight rein on the chapters.[2] Originally based in Belmont, Massachusetts, the JBS is now headquartered in Grand Chute, Wisconsin,[3] with local chapters in all 50 states. The organization owns American Opinion Publishing, which publishes the journal The New American.[4]

Values

The society says it is anti-totalitarian, particularly anti-socialist and anti-communist. It seeks to limit the powers of government and defends the original intention of the U.S. Constitution, which it sees as based on Christian principles. It opposes collectivism, including wealth redistribution, economic interventionism, socialism, communism, and fascism, despite the collectivist philosophy espoused in the New Testament. In a 1983 edition of Crossfire, Congressman Larry McDonald (D-Georgia), then its newly appointed president, characterized the society as belonging to the Old Right rather than the New Right (he defined New Right as "Viguerie and post-Viguerie").[5]

The society opposed aspects of the civil rights movement in the 1960s because of its concerns that the movement had communists in important positions. The society opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, saying it was in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and overstepped the rights of individual states to enact laws regarding civil rights. The society is against "one world government", and has an immigration reduction view on immigration reform. It opposes the United Nations, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and other free trade agreements. The society argues that there is a devaluing of the U.S. Constitution in favor of political and economic globalization, and that this trend is not an accident. It cites the existence of the Security and Prosperity Partnership as evidence of a push towards a North American Union.[6]

It has been described as "ultraconservative",[7] "far right",[8] and "extremist".[9] The Southern Poverty Law Center, lists the society as a "Patriot' Group". Its definition of patriot groups includes: "Generally, Patriot groups define themselves as opposed to the 'New World Order' or advocate or adhere to extreme antigovernment doctrines".[10]

History

Origins

The society was established in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 9, 1958 by a group of 12 led by Robert Welch, Jr., a retired candy manufacturer from Belmont, Massachusetts. Welch named the new organization after John Birch, an American Baptist missionary and U.S. military intelligence officer who was killed by communist forces in China in August of 1945, shortly after the conclusion of World War II - the first American casualty, Welch contended, of the Cold War.[11]

One founding member was Fred Koch, founder of Koch Industries, one of the largest private corporations in America. Another was Revilo P. Oliver, a University of Illinois professor who later severed his relationship with the society and helped found the National Alliance. A transcript of Welch's two-day presentation at the founding meeting was published as The Blue Book of the John Birch Society, and became a cornerstone of its beliefs, with each new member receiving a copy.[5]

According to Welch, "both the U.S. and Soviet governments are controlled by the same furtive conspiratorial cabal of internationalists, greedy bankers, and corrupt politicians. If left unexposed, the traitors inside the U.S. government would betray the country's sovereignty to the United Nations for a collectivist New World Order, managed by a 'one-world socialist government.'"[12][13] Welch saw collectivism as the main threat to Western Civilization, and liberals as "secret communist traitors" who provided cover for the gradual process of collectivism, with the ultimate goal of replacing the nations of western civilization with a one-world socialist government. "There are many stages of welfarism, socialism, and collectivism in general," he wrote, "but Communism is the ultimate state of them all, and they all lead inevitably in that direction."[13]

The society's activities include distribution of literature, pamphlets, magazines, videos and other educational material while sponsoring a Speaker's Bureau, which invites "speakers who are keenly aware of the motivations that drive political policy".[14] One of the first public activities of the society was a "Get US Out!" (of membership in the UN) campaign, which claimed in 1959 that the "Real nature of [the] UN is to build a One World Government."[15] In 1960, Welch advised JBS members to: "Join your local P.T.A. at the beginning of the school year, get your conservative friends to do likewise, and go to work to take it over."[16] One Man's Opinion, a magazine launched by Welch in 1956, was renamed American Opinion, and became the society's official publication. The society publishes the journal The New American on a biweekly basis.[4]

1960s

By March 1961 the society had 60,000 to 100,000 members and, according to Welch, "a staff of 28 people in the Home Office; about 30 Coordinators (or Major Coordinators) in the field, who are fully paid as to salary and expenses; and about 100 Coordinators (or Section Leaders as they are called in some areas), who work on a volunteer basis as to all or part of their salary, or expenses, or both." According to Political Research Associates, a "progressive think tank devoted to supporting movements that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society",[17] the society "pioneered grassroots lobbying, combining educational meetings, petition drives and letter-writing campaigns. One early campaign against the second summit between the United States and the Soviet Union generated over 600,000 postcards and letters, according to the society. A June 1964 society campaign to oppose Xerox corporate sponsorship of TV programs favorable to the UN produced 51,279 letters from 12,785 individuals."[13]

In the 1960s Welch insisted that the Johnson administration's fight against communism in Vietnam was part of a communist plot aimed at taking over the United States. Welch demanded that the United States get out of Vietnam, thus aligning the Society with the far left.[18]

The JBS was moderately active in the 1960s with numerous chapters, but rarely engaged in coalition building with other conservatives. Indeed, it was rejected by most conservatives because of the Welch's conspiracy theories. Ayn Rand said in a Playboy interview that "What is wrong with them is that they don't seem to have any specific, clearly defined political philosophy... I consider the Birch Society futile, because they are not for Capitalism but merely against Communism."[19][20]


Former Eisenhower cabinet member Ezra Taft Benson, a leading Mormon, spoke in favor of the John Birch Society, but in January 1963 the Mormon church issued a statement distancing itself from the Society.[21]

Antisemitic, racist, anti-Mormon, anti-Masonic, and religious groups criticized the group's acceptance of Jews, non-whites, Masons, and Mormon. These opponents accused Welch of harboring feminist, ecumenical, and evolutionary ideas.[22][23][24]


In 1964 Welch favored Barry Goldwater over Richard Nixon for the Republican nomination, but the membership split, with two-thirds supporting Goldwater and one-third supporting Nixon. A number of Birch members and their allies were Goldwater supporters in 1964[25] and some were delegates at the 1964 Republican National Convention. The JBS played no known role in the fall election campaign.

In April 1966, a New York Times article on New Jersey and the society stated, in part, a concern for "the increasing tempo of radical right attacks on local government, libraries, school boards, parent-teacher associations, mental health programs, the Republican Party and, most recently, the ecumenical movement."[26] It then characterized the society as, "by far the most successful and 'respectable' radical right organization in the country. It operates alone or in support of other extremist organizations whose major preoccupation, like that of the Birchers, is the internal Communist conspiracy in the United States."

Eisenhower issue

Welch wrote in a widely circulated statement, The Politician, "Could Eisenhower really be simply a smart politician, entirely without principles and hungry for glory, who is only the tool of the Communists? The answer is yes." He went on. "With regard to ... Eisenhower, it is difficult to avoid raising the question of deliberate treason."[27]

The controversial paragraph was removed before final publication of The Politician.[28]

The sensationalism of Welch's charges against Eisenhower prompted several conservatives and Republicans, most prominently Goldwater and the intellectuals of Buckley's circle, to renounce outright or quietly shun the group. Buckley, an early friend and admirer of Welch, regarded his accusations against Eisenhower as "paranoid and idiotic libels" and attempted unsuccessfully to purge Welch from the Birch Society.[29]

1970s

The society was at the center of an important free-speech law case in the 1970s, after American Opinion accused a Chicago lawyer representing the family of a young man killed by a police officer of being part of a Communist conspiracy to merge all police agencies in the country into one large force. The resulting libel suit, Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., reached the United States Supreme Court, which held that a state may allow a private figure such as Gertz to recover actual damages from a media defendant without proving malice, but that a public figure does have to prove actual malice, according to the standard laid out in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, in order to recover presumed damages or punitive damages.[30] The court ordered a retrial in which Gertz prevailed.

Key society causes of the 1970s included opposition to both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and to the establishment of diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China. The society claimed in 1973 that the regime of Mao Zedong had murdered 64 million Chinese as of that year and that it was the primary supplier of illicit heroin into the United States. This led to bumper stickers showing a pair of scissors cutting a hypodermic needle in half accompanied by the slogan "Cut The Red China Connection." According to the Voice of America, the society also was opposed to transferring control of the Panama Canal from American to Panamanian sovereignty.[31]

The society was organized into local chapters during this period. Ernest Brosang, a New Jersey regional coordinator, claimed that it was virtually impossible for opponents of the society to penetrate its policy-making levels, thereby protecting it from "anti-American" takeover attempts. Its activities included the distribution of literature critical of civil rights legislation, warnings over the influence of the United Nations, and the release of petitions to impeach U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren. To spread their message, members held showings of documentary films and operated initiatives such as "Let Freedom Ring", a nation-wide network of recorded telephone messages.

After Welch

Political sign in white background advocating for removal of United States from the United Nations
A sign advocating America's withdrawal produced by the John Birch Society.

By the time of Welch's death in 1985, the society's membership and influence had dramatically declined, but the UN's role in the Gulf War and President George H. W. Bush's call for a 'New World Order' appeared to many society members to validate their claims about a "One World Government" conspiracy.

The society continues to press for an end to U.S. membership in the United Nations. As evidence of the effectiveness of JBS efforts, the society points to the Utah State Legislature's failed resolution calling for U.S. withdrawal, as well as the actions of several other states where the Society's membership has been active. The society repeatedly opposed overseas war-making, although it is strongly supportive of the American military. It has issued calls to "Bring Our Troops Home" in every conflict since its founding, including Vietnam. The society also has a national speakers' committee called American Opinion Speakers Bureau (AOSB) and an anti-tax committee called TRIM (Tax Reform IMmediately).[32]

The second head of the Society was Congressman Larry McDonald from Georgia, who was killed on September 1, 1983, when the Soviets shot down KAL 007. The only congressman killed by the Soviets during the Cold War, he was on the way to the 30th year commemoration of the U.S.-S. Korea Mutual Defense Treaty in Seoul.

2009–2010

The Society has been active in supporting the auditing[33] of and aims to eventually dismantle the Federal Reserve System. The JBS believes that the U.S. Constitution gave only Congress the ability to coin money, and did not intend for it to delegate this power to a banking monopoly, or to transform it into a fiat currency not backed by gold or silver.

The JBS was one of over one hundred exhibitors of the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference.[34][35]

Members

There are unofficial JBS chapters on many college campuses throughout the United States.

One survey in the early 1970s found the typical John Birch Society members were middle or upper-middle class, Republican and Protestant. They were also fairly young and well educated: the majority of the sample was under 40 at time of recruitment and had completed at least three years of college. A later survey in the mid 1980s found the membership then was disproportionately from the Southwestern United States, young, urban, male, and Catholic. They were consistently conservative on secular issues, antigovernment, and negative toward communism. Wilcox (1988) reports the evidence does not support liberal notions that irrationality, social strains, or status anxiety explained their beliefs.[36]

In popular culture

  • In 1964, Dizzy Gillespie made a semi-satirical run for President, and formed chapters of the "John Birks Society" (his real name was John Birks Gillespie) in 25 states.[37]
  • Bob Dylan wrote "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues",[38] narrated by a paranoid society member who looks everywhere for Communists, even in his toilet bowl and at one point decides that they are in his television set.
  • General Jack Ripper in the movie Dr. Strangelove was based upon the John Birch Society's anti-fluoridation campaign.[39]
  • The Chad Mitchell Trio performed the satirical song "The John Birch Society".[40]
  • Steve Jackson Games included a mythical "Fred Birch Society" as one of hundreds of groups in the collectible card game Illuminati: New World Order.[41]
  • Walt Kelly used his comic strip Pogo to produce a satire that appeared in book form as "The Jack Acid Society Black Book."[42]

Leaders and notable members

Presidents

CEOs

Politicians

See also

References

  1. ^ "The JBS Mission". The John Birch Society. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  2. ^ Jonathan Schoenwald, A Time for Choosing (2002) ch 3.
  3. ^ Dan Barry (June 25, 2009). "Holding Firm Against Plots by Evildoers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-04. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  4. ^ a b "The New American". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ a b "Larry McDonald on the New World Order". Liveleak. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  6. ^ Farmer, Brian (2007-09-17). "The North American Union: Conspiracy Theory or Conspiracy Fact?". The John Birch Society. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  7. ^ Lunsford, J. Lynn (February 4, 2009). "Business Bookshelf: Piles of Green From Black Gold". Wall Street Journal. p. A.11.
    "Beck's backing bumps Skousen book to top". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. March 21, 2009. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
    Byrd, Shelia (May 25, 2008). "Churches tackle tough topic of race". Sunday Gazette — Mail. Charleston, W.V. p. C.5.
  8. ^ Burch, Kurt (1997). Constituting international political economy. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 125. ISBN 9781555876609. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
    Oshinsky, David (January 27, 2008). "In the Heart of the Heart of Conspiracy". New York Times Book Review. p. 23.
    Danielson, Chris (Feb 2009). ""Lily White and Hard Right": The Mississippi Republican Party and Black Voting, 1965-1980". The Journal of Southern History. 75 (1). Athens: 83.
    Lee, Martha F (Fall 2005). "NESTA WEBSTER: The Voice of Conspiracy". Journal of Women's History. 17 (3). Baltimore: 81.
  9. ^ LIEBMAN, MARVIN (March 17, 1996). "PERSPECTIVE ON POLITICS; The Big Tent Isn't Big Enough; By allowing extremists to flourish openly, the GOP forces out those who represent the party's moderate values". Los Angeles Times. p. 5.
    TOBIN, JONATHAN S. (March 9, 2008). "The writer who chased the anti-Semites out". Jerusalem Post. p. 14.
    Gerson, Michael (March 10, 2009). "Looking for conservatism". Times Daily. Florence, Ala.
  10. ^ "'Patriot' Groups". Southern Poverty Law Center. Spring 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  11. ^ John Birch. Biography Base. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  12. ^ Welch, Robert E. (1961). Blue Book of the John Birch Society. American Opinion Books. ISBN 0-88279-215-6.
  13. ^ a b c "John Birch Society". Political Research Associates. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  14. ^ John Birch Society Speakers Bureau
  15. ^ Matthew Lyons; Chip Berlet (2000). Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort. New York: The Guilford Press. p. 179. ISBN 1-57230-562-2.
  16. ^ French, William Marshall (1967). American Secondary Education. Odyssey Press. p. 477. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  17. ^ "Public Eye on The John Birch Society".
  18. ^ Stephen Earl Bennett, "Modes of Resolution of a 'Belief Dilemma' in the Ideology of the John Birch Society," Journal of Politics 1971 33(3): 735-772.
  19. ^ "Who was Ayn Rand? - a biography, Playboy interview, 1964". Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  20. ^ "The Atlas Society : "The 'Lost' Parts of Ayn Rand's Playboy Interview"".
  21. ^ Gregory A. Prince, "The Red Peril, the Candy Maker, and the Apostle: David O. Mckay's Confrontation with Communism," Dialogue: a Journal of Mormon Thought 2004 37(2): 37-94.
  22. ^ Bryant, John. "The John Birch Society – Exposed!". Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  23. ^ "A Spectre Haunting Mormonism". Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  24. ^ Bove, Nicholas J., Jr. "The Belmont Brotherhood". Retrieved 2008-07-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ William F. Buckley, "Goldwater, the John Birch Society, and Me"
  26. ^ Ronald Sullivan, "Foes of Rising Birch Society Organize in Jersey," New York Times, April 20, 1966, page 1
  27. ^ Quoted at "Glenn Beck talks with JBS President John F. McManus" Aug. 15, 2006.
  28. ^ Welch, Robert (1975). The Politician. Boston: Western Islands. cxxxviii–cxxxix. ISBN 99908-64-98-5. At this point in the original manuscript, there was one paragraph in which I expressed my own personal belief as to the most likely explanation of the events and actions with this document had tried to bring into focus. In a confidential letter, neither published nor offered for sale and restricted to friends who were expected to respect the confidence but offer me in exchange their own points of view, this seemed entirely permissible and proper. It does not seem so for an edition of the letter that is now to be published and given, probably, fairly wide distribution. So that paragraph, and two explanatory paragraphs, connected with it, have been omitted here. And the reader is left entirely free to draw his own conclusions. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ John B. Judis, William F. Buckley, Jr.: Patron Saint of the Conservatives (2001) pp 193-200
  30. ^ Haiman, Franklyn Saul; Tedford, Thomas L.; Herbeck, Dale (2005). "Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc". Freedom Of Speech In The United States. Strata Publishing. ISBN 1-891136-10-0. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ Guthrie, Andrew (1999-11-24). "Is Panama Canal Falling Under Chinese Control?". Voice of America. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  32. ^ The Ross Institute.
  33. ^ http://www.jbs.org/index.php/inflation-taxes-economy-blog/4569
  34. ^ CPAC 2010 Cosponsors. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  35. ^ Bill Hahn, JBS Public Relations Manager (December 15, 2009). "The John Birch Society Announces CPAC 2010 Cosponsorship". Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  36. ^ Stone (1974); Wilcox (1988).
  37. ^ "Before Colbert, there was Dizzy" : WFIU Public Radio, 2007.
  38. ^ BobDylan.com
  39. ^ JENKINS, LOGAN (March 27, 1999). "Fluoride feud hasn't lost its bite". The San Diego Union - Tribune. p. B.11.
  40. ^ MSN reviews "At the Bitter End" by The Chad Mitchell Trio
  41. ^ List of INWO groups.
  42. ^ Walt Kelly biography from BPIB.com

Further reading

Scholarly studies

  • McGirr, Lisa. Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right (2001), focus on Los Angeles suburbs in 1960s
  • Schoenwald; Jonathan . A Time for Choosing: The Rise of Modern American Conservatism (2002) pp 62-99 excerpt and text search
  • Stone, Barbara S. "The John Birch Society: a Profile," Journal of Politics 1974 36(1): 184-197,
  • Wilcox, Clyde. "Sources of Support for the Old Right: a Comparison of the John Birch Society and the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade." Social Science History 1988 12(4): 429-450,

Primary sources

Criticizing the John Birch Society

  • De Koster, Lester. (1967). The Citizen and the John Birch Society. A Reformed Journal monograph. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans.
  • Epstein, Benjamin R., and Arnold Forster. (1966). The Radical Right: Report on the John Birch Society and Its Allies. New York: Vintage Books.
  • Grove, Gene. (1961). Inside the John Birch Society. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett.
  • Grupp, Fred W., Jr. (1969). "The Political Perspectives of Birch Society Members." In Robert A. Schoenberger (Ed.), The American Right
  • Hardisty, Jean V. (1999). Mobilizing Resentment: Conservative Resurgence from the John Birch Society to the Promise Keepers. Boston: Beacon.

External links

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