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The John Birch Society is a political education and action organization founded by Robert W. Welch Jr. in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1958. Although the society does not endorse specific political candidates, it is frequently associated with traditionally conservative causes such as anti-communism, and support for individual rights and the ownership of private property.^[1] It promotes U.S. independence and sovereignty and opposes globalism, especially international regional groups such as the European Union or what the JBS claims is a proposed North American Union.^[2]

The Society is generally considered to be well on the right of the American political spectrum^[3][4] and has been described as "ultraconservative" on its own website.^[5] However, due to various changes in the personalities, tactics, and ideologies within the conservative movement, the Society has been greatly marginalized since the 1960s among mainstream conservatives.^[6]

The JBS was named after John Birch, a United States military intelligence officer and Baptist missionary in World War II who was killed in 1945 by armed supporters of the Communist Party of China, and whom the JBS describes as "a patriotic exemplar."^[7] His parents joined the society as life members.^{citation needed}

Based in Appleton, Wisconsin, the society says that members come from all walks of life and are active in all 50 states via local chapters. Its mission is to achieve "Less Government, More Responsibility, and — With God's Help — a Better World."^[1]

The society's publishing arm, under which it has issued books on numerous topics, is known as American Opinion Book Service^{citation needed} and JBS members have been active in other publishing concerns including Western Islands Publishing.^{citation needed}

Core values

The John Birch Society claims to be anti-totalitarian, particularly anti-Socialist and anti-Communist, and to lean libertarian. It generally seeks to limit the powers of government and defends what it sees as the original intention of the U.S. Constitution, rooted in Judeo-Christian principles. It idealizes the Founding Fathers as patriotic anti-Communists.^{citation needed} The John Birch Society opposes collectivism, including wealth redistribution, economic interventionism, Socialism, Communism, and Fascism. In a 1983 edition of Crossfire, Congressman Larry McDonald, then its newly appointed chairman, characterized the group as most appropriately belonging to the Old Right, rather than the new right.^[8]

During the 1960s, The John Birch Society opposed aspects of the Civil Rights Movement because of concerns that the movement had a number of Communists in important positions and because they suspected that it was backed and supported by the American Communist Party.^{citation needed} The John Birch Society opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act in the belief that it was in violation of the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution and overstepped the rights of individual states to make laws regarding Civil Rights.

The John Birch Society is against a unified "one world government", and has an illegal immigration reduction view on immigration reform. It has opposed the United Nations, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and other free trade agreements with other nations, believing them to be destructive to American principles, the economy, freedom and national sovereignty. It also opposes the theory of evolution.^{citation needed}

The Society claims there is a devaluing of the US Constitution in favor of international government, and that this is not an accident. They cite David Rockefeller's 2002 autobiography Memoirs In which Rockefeller states: “For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents such as my encounter with Castro to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as "internationalists" and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure—one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."^[9][10]

Origins

The John Birch Society was established in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 9, 1958 by a group of twelve "patriotic and public-spirited" men led by Robert Welch, Jr., a retired candy manufacturer from Belmont, Massachusetts. A noted founding member was Fred Koch, founder of Koch Industries, one of the largest private corporations in America. Another was Revilo Pendleton Oliver, a University of Illinois professor who later co-founded the racist 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 JBS member receiving a copy.^[8]

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.'"^[11][12]

Welch saw "collectivism" as the main threat to Western Civilization, and far-left liberals as "secret Communist traitors" who provide the cover for the gradual process of collectivism, with the ultimate goal of replacing the nations of western civilization with 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."^[12]

The John Birch Society's objective has been to fight Communism and totalitarianism using some of Communism's own techniques—organization of front groups, infiltration of other groups, and letter-writing campaigns. They have organized grassroots chapters in every state and are the only Americanist organization to have full-time paid field staff assisting those chapters. Their activities include distribution of literature, pamphlets, magazines, videos and other educational material while sponsoring a Speaker's Bureau and encouraging members to conduct letter-writing campaigns especially to elected officials.^{citation needed}

One of the first public activities of the JBS 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."^[13] 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."^[14]

For over 40 years the John Birch Society has supported the often unsung and heroic efforts of America’s local police.^{citation needed}

One Man's Opinion, a magazine launched by Welch in 1956, was renamed American Opinion and became the Birch Society's official publication. It has since been replaced by the bi-weekly magazine, The New American.^{citation needed}

1960s

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By March 1961, the Society had an estimated 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 its profile by the left wing group Political Research Associates, an organization that tracks conspiracists on the Right, JBS "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 Birch campaign to oppose Xerox corporate sponsorship of TV programs favorable to the UN produced 51,279 letters from 12,785 individuals."^[12] The Birchers' ad-hoc special issues committees have been effective in creating awareness about issues which they believe to be affecting the American way of life.

Much of the Society's early views, according to Political Research Associates, "reflects an ultra-conservative business nationalist critique of business internationalists networked through groups such as the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)." Birchers elaborated on an earlier Illuminati/Freemason conspiracy theory, imagining "an unbroken ideologically driven conspiracy linking the Illuminati, the French Revolution, the rise of Marxism and Communism, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the United Nations".^[12] Unlike most advocates of the Illuminati-Freemason conspiracy theory, however, the Birch Society strenuously denies harboring any anti-Semitic or anti-masonic ideas, and indeed claims many Jews among its membership. At one point a key leader in the JBS, Revilo P. Oliver, resigned after a dispute over his veering off into antisemitic conspiracy theories in public.^{citation needed}

Anti-Jewish, racist, anti-Mormon, anti-Masonic, and religious groups criticized the group's acceptance of Jews, nonwhites, Masons, the large number of Mormons in the Society (Ezra Taft Benson, a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, encouraged people to join it), and Welch's alleged feminist, ecumenical, and evolutionary ideas.^[15][16][17]

Ayn Rand said in a Playboy interview that "I consider the Birch Society futile, because they are not for Capitalism but merely against Communism."^{[18]this primary source citation needs verification}

In October 1964, the Idaho Statesman newspaper expressed concern about what it called an "ominous" increase in JBS-led "ultra-right" radio and television broadcasts, which it said then numbered 7,000 weekly and cost an estimated $10 million annually. "By virtue of saturation tactics used, radical, reactionary propaganda is producing an impact even on large numbers of people who, themselves, are in no sense extremists or sympathetic to extremist views," declared a Statesman editorial. "When day after day they hear distortions of fact and sinister charges against persons or groups, often emanating from organizations with conspicuously respectable sounding names, it is no wonder that the result is confusion on some important public issues; stimulation of latent prejudices; creation of suspicion, fear and mistrust in relation not only to their representatives in government, but even in relation to their neighbors."

In their early days, the JBS shared a common ideology and some overlapping membership with Fred Schwarz and his California-based Christian Anti-Communism Crusade. John Birch Society influence on U.S. politics hit its high point in the years around the failed 1964 presidential campaign of Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who lost to incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson. Welch had supported 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^{citation needed} and some were delegates at the 1964 Republican National Convention. The Goldwater campaign in turn brought together the nucleus of what later became known as the New Right, many of whom had been groomed by the Birch Society but whose more pragmatic members realized that the group's views were an impediment to electoral success.^{citation needed}

John Birch Society members and other opponents of Communism also authored several widely-distributed books that promoted conspiracy theories and mobilized support for the Goldwater campaign:

• A Choice, Not an Echo by Phyllis Schlafly, which suggested that the Republican Party was secretly controlled by elitist intellectuals dominated by members of the Bilderberger banking conference, and whose policies were designed to usher in global Communist conquest. "A Choice, Not an Echo" became one of Goldwater's campaign slogans.
• The Gravediggers, co-authored by Schlafly and retired Rear Admiral Chester Ward of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, claimed that U.S. military strategy and tactics were actually designed to pave the way for global Communist conquest.
• None Dare Call It Treason, by John A. Stormer, sold over seven million copies, making it one of the largest-selling paperback books of the day. It decried "the concurrent decay in America's schools, churches, and press which has conditioned the American people to accept 20 years of retreat in the face of the Communist enemy." Mr. Stormer also added, in his 1998 preface to the paperback edition: "Communism, which some believe (or hope) died in the Soviet Union, is alive and on the march in Asia, the Middle East, Central and Southern Africa and through guerrilla groups in Central and South America."
• A Texan Looks at Lyndon by J. Evetts Haley, a book containing a number of allegations of political corruption throughout the career of Lyndon Johnson.

In April 1966, a New York Times article opined about "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."^{citation needed} It went on to characterize 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." By then, a committee called the Movement to Restore Decency (MOTOREDE) was established to promote opinions about child-rearing; in particular, MOTOREDE pushed for a ban on sex education.^[19]

Robert Welch and The Politician

Republican mainstream^who? unhappiness with the Birch Society intensified after Welch circulated a letter calling President Dwight D. Eisenhower a possible "conscious, dedicated agent of the Communist Conspiracy."^{citation needed} The controversial paragraph was removed before final publication of The Politician.^[20] Welch also wrote that President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in advance, but said nothing because he wanted to get his country in the war.^{citation needed}

The book spawned much debate^who? in the 1960s over whether the author really intended to call Eisenhower a Communist.^{citation needed} G. Edward Griffin, one of his friends, thinks that he meant collectivist.^{citation needed} The charge's sensationalism led many conservatives and Republicans^who? to shy away from the group.^{citation needed} The book was slightly toned down in the published version compared to the unpublished version.^{citation needed} Welch later tried to distance himself from the work by saying that it was not originally meant to be published because it was just a confidential letter among friends.^{citation needed}

Conservative writer William F. Buckley, Jr., 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 JBS.^{citation needed} Welch responded by attempting to take over Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative youth organization founded with assistance from Buckley.^{citation needed} The JBS now maintains summer camps which operate across the country and teach youth the ideas of its members.^{citation needed}

1970s

The Society wound up 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 "Under the First Amendment there is no such thing as a false idea"^[21] (while nevertheless finding for the plaintiff, who prevailed upon retrial).

Key Birch Society causes of the 1970s included opposition to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and to the establishment of diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China. The organization 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.^[22]

The John Birch Society was organized into local chapters. Ernest Brosang, a New Jersey regional coordinator, contended that it was virtually impossible for opponents of the society to penetrate its policy-making levels, thereby protecting it from anti-Americanist takeover attempts. Its activities included distribution of literature critical of civil rights legislation, warning of the influence of the United Nations, and distributing 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. Some members also helped organize the "Minutemen", a paramilitary group training to lead guerrilla warfare in case of a Communist takeover.

After Welch

By the time of Welch's death in 1985, the Birch 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 JBS members to validate their claims about a "One World Government" conspiracy. Growing right-wing populism in the United States helped The John Birch Society position itself for a comeback, and by 1995, its membership had grown somewhat to more than 55,000,^who? though that number is unofficial as the Society does not disclose its membership statistics.^{citation needed}

In the late 1990s, the John Birch Society started a campaign to impeach President Bill Clinton for alleged connections with Chinese interests and on charges of treason and bribery.^{citation needed} Within months of the Society's call for impeachment, news of the Monica Lewinsky affair broke, and the Society's charges were overshadowed by media coverage of Lewinsky and Clinton. The President was eventually indicted on impeachment charges, but the charges were different from those the Society had hoped to bring. Nevertheless, the impeachment campaign's relative success bolstered the Society and its public knowledge, membership, publication circulation, and finances.^{citation needed}

In recent years, The John Birch Society has been just as critical of President George W. Bush as it had been of Democratic presidents, accusing the Bush administration of advocating and carrying out acts of torture against suspected terrorist leaders during the War on Terror. In a 2005 online poll, the organization's membership voted for President Bush's impeachment,^{citation needed} citing issues such as the USA PATRIOT Act, the proposed sellout of U.S. Seaports to Dubai Ports World,^{citation needed} and recent allegations against the Bush administration concerning domestic telephone surveillance of suspected terrorists operating within the United States. These were cited as evidence of Bush's lack of regard for the Constitution.^{citation needed}

The JBS 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 resolution calling for U.S. withdrawal, as well as the actions of several other states where the Society's membership has been active. The Birch 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 (it wanted a quick win and exit after the conflict had already started rather than a simple losing pullout).^{citation needed} The Society also has a national speakers' committee called American Opinion Speakers Bureau (AOSB) and an anti-tax committee called TRIM (Tax Reform IMmediately).^{citation needed}

In popular culture

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The JBS has sometimes been made a target of political satire. For example:

• In 1964, notable jazz trumpet player 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. Gillespie's politics, such as they were, were incompatible with the views of the John Birch Society: among his campaign pledges were to provide free universal health care and appoint Malcolm X as Attorney General.
• In his novel, The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon satirized the famously conservative society with his "Peter Pinguid Society", an organization that opposed Capitalism, in part because it led inevitably to Communism.
• The Bob Dylan song, "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", from The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991, is a fictitious satire about a man joining the society.
• The Chad Mitchell Trio's 'break-out' song hit was their comic parody, "The John Birch Society," which contained the lyrics, "If Mommy is a commie then you've got to turn her in."
• Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea's novel, Illuminatus!, contains several references to the John Birch Society in a subplot. it is satirized with the tag "john birch died for you"
• Steve Jackson Games included a mythical "Fred Birch Society" as one of hundreds of groups in the collectible card game, Illuminati: New World Order. The F.B.S. is also mentioned in their GURPS Supers — International Super Teams universe.
• In Girl, Interrupted, Susanna Kaysen describes the John Birch Society building as a sort of counterpart to the mental asylum she lived in for two years, saying, "The John Birch Society lay as far to the east of Belmont as the hospital lay to the west. We saw the two institutes as variations on each other. Doubtless, the Birchers did not see it this way, but between us, we had Belmont surrounded."

Leaders and notable members

Presidents

• Robert W. Welch Jr. (1958–1983)
• Larry McDonald (1983) - a U.S. Representative was killed in the 1983 KAL-007 shootdown incident.
• Charles R. Armour
• John F. McManus (1991–2004, 2005–present)
• G. Vance Smith (2004–2005)

CEOs

• G. Allen Bubolz (1988–1991)
• G. Vance Smith (1991–2005)
• Arthur R. Thompson (2005-present)

See also

• Anti-Communism
• United States isolationism
• Paleoconservatism
• Christian Patriot movement
• Chad Mitchell Trio
• Withdrawal from the United Nations
• William P. Hoar
• Wise Use Movement
• Separation of church and state
• William Norman Grigg

References

Footnotes

Further reading

External links

• John Birch Society website
• The New American, JBS biweekly publication
• "John Birch Society," Political Research Associates
• Report of the California Senate Factfinding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities on the John Birch Society
• Short excerpt of a film, circa 1965, of Robert W. Welch Jr., entitled "What is the John Birch Society?" explaining why he founded the John Birch Society and its aims