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J o h n B ir c h S o c ie ty
Robert Welch introduced the idea of the John Birch Society at an Indianapolis meeting he convened on December 9, 1958 of 12 "patriotic and
public-spirited" men. The first chapter was founded a few months later in February 1959. The core thesis of the society was contained Welch's
initial Indianapolis presentation, transcribed almost verbatim in The Blue Book o f the John Birch Society, and subsequently given to each new
member. According to Welch, both the US 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 US government would betray the country's sovereignty to the
United Nations for a collectivist new world order managed by a "one-world socialist government." The Birch Society incorporated many
themes from pre-WWU rightist groups opposed to the New Deal, and had its base in the business nationalist sector discussed earlier.
Welch was bom in 1899 and worked "in the candy manufacturing business all of his adult life," for many years as the vice president for sales
and advertising of the James O. Welch Company, founded by his brother. He was on the board of directors of tfie ultraconservative National
Association of Manufacturers for seven years starting in 1950, and chaired NAM's Educational Advisory Committee for two years. It was at
NAM, during the height of the Red Menace hysteria, that Welch honed his Americanist philosophy. Welch toured the country chairing meetings
on the state of American education, and producing a 32-page brochure "This We Believe About Education," that "concluded that in America
parents—and not the State—have the ultimate responsibility for the education of their children." 200,000 copies of the brochure were distributed
by NAM.
Welch served as vice chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party finance committee in 1948, and unsuccessfully ran for Lt. Governor in
the 1950 Republican primary. Welch supported the ultraconservative Taft over the more moderate Eisenhower by running as a Massachusetts
Taft delegate to the 1952 Republican convention. In 1952 Welch wrote May God Forgive U s , a study alleging "subversive influences" by
government officials and their allies to shape "public opinion and governmental policies to favor the Communist advance." The book was
published by the ultraconservative Henry Regnery Company, which in 1954 also published Welch's The Life o f John Birch , which told the
story of a fundamentalist missionary in China who became an intelligence agent for General Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers. Birch was killed
by Chinese communist soldiers while he was on a mission at the end of WWII. In February of 1956 Welch started publishing a magazine, One
Man's Opinion , and in January 1957 he left the candy business to devote his energies to "the anti-Communist cause."
Welch saw collectivism as the main threat to western civilization, writing "both the Greek and the Roman civilizations did perish of the cancer
of collectivism, and the civilization of Western Europe is doing so today.” This view was shared by many conservatives of the day, and had
been developed by such conservative intellectuals as Hayek. The ingredient that Welch added was an "uncompromising conspiracy theory of
world events, one that blamed domestic rather than foreign enemies for the spread of communism," as Diamond summarized. Although critical
of Oswald Spengler's intellectual snobbery, Welch agreed with Spengler's thesis in Decline o f the West, of a "cyclical theory of cultures," but
Welch argued that western European civilization was being prematurely put at risk by a conspiracy to promote the decay of collectivism.
According to the JBS theory, liberals provide the cover for the gradual process of collectivism, therefore many liberals and their allies must
actually be secret communist traitors whose ultimate goal is to replace the nations of western civilization with one-world socialist government.
"There are many stages o f welfarism, socialism, and collectivism in general," wrote Welch, "but communism is the ultimate state of them all,
and they all lead inevitably in that direction." A core tenet of the JBS was that the US is a republic not a democracy, and that collectivism has
eroded that distinction. That this distinction was largely a semantic trick-used to cover the essential autocratic elitism of Welch and the JBS
philosoph-was examined by Lester DeKoster, a conservative Christian who warned of the JBS anti-democratic agenda in his monograph titled
The Citizen and the John Birch Society.
The JBS concern that collectivism, statism, and internationalism would be ushered in through a subversive communist conspiracy naturally
evolved into the JBS "Get US out of UN!" campaign, which alleged in 1959 that the "Real nature of [the] UN is to build One World
Government (New World Order)." Behind much of this concern was opposition to communism not only on economic, ideological, and
pragmatic geopolitical grounds, but also because it was seen as a godless conspiracy. The influence of fundamentalist Christian beliefs on Birch
doctrine are often obscured by the group's ostensible secular orientation. As Welch put it, "This is a world-wide battle, between light and
darkness;.between freedom and slavery; between the spirit of Christianity and the spirit of anti-Christ for the souls and bodies of men."
Welch's magazine, renamed American Opinion , became the official JBS publication in 1959, as chapters began to be built. In January 1960 the
Birch Society had 75 chapters and 1,500 members, and by September 1960 there were 324 chapters and some 5,300 members. In March of
1961, according to Welch, there was "a staff of twenty-eight people in the Home Office; about thirty Coordinators (or Major Coordinators) in
the field, who are fully-paid as to salary and expenses; and about one hundred 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." Estimates of Society membership by the end of
1961 ranged from 60,000 to 100,000. The actual membership figures are shrouded in secrecy and often disputed. Broyles argues that in 1966
the actual active membership was more like 25,000 to 30,000, but this seems a low, and active members are outnumbered by paid members in
most groups.
No matter what the actual membership, the JBS pioneered grassroots lobbying, combining educational meetings, petition drives, and letter
writing campaigns. One early campaign against the second Summit Conference between the US and the Soviet Union generated over 600,000
postcards and letters, according to the Society. A June 1964 Birch campaign to oppose Xerox Corporation sponsorship of TV programs
favorable to the UN produced 51,279 letters from 12,785 individuals.
M u ch o f the early B irch co n sp ira cism reflects an ultracon servative b u sin ess n ation alist critiq ue o f b u sin e ss intern ation alists n etw o rk ed through
g rou p s su ch as the C o u n c il o n F o re ig n R e la tio n s (C F R ). T h e C F R is v ie w e d through a co n sp ira cist len s as p u p p ets o f the R o c k e fe lle r fa m ily in
a 1 9 5 2 b o o k b y M cC a rth y fan , E m a n u el M . J o se p h so n , Rockefeller, 'Internationalist': The M an Who M isrules the W o r ld . In 1 9 6 2 D a n
S m o o t's The Invisible G overnm ent ad d ed several other p o licy groups to the list o f con sp irators, in clu d in g the C o m m ittee for E c o n o m ic
D e v elo p m en t, the A d v ertisin g C o u n c il, the A tlan tic C o u n cil (form erly the A tlan tic U n io n C om m ittee), the B u s in e ss A d v iso ry C o u n c il, and the
Trilateral C o m m iss io n . S m o o t had w ork ed at F B I headquarters in W a sh in g to n , D C b efore le a v in g to esta b lish an an tico m m u n ist n ew sletter,
The Dan Sm oot Report. T h e sh ift from cou n tersu b v ersio n on b e h a lf o f the F B I to co u n tersu b version in th e private secto r w a s an e a sy o n e . T h e
b a sic th esis w a s the sa m e . In S m o o t's c o n c lu d in g chapter, he w rote, " S om ew h ere at th e top o f th e pyram id in th e in v isib le g o v e rn m en t are a
fe w sin ister p e o p le w h o k n o w ex a ctly w h at they are doin g: T h ey w an t A m erica to b e c o m e part o f a w o r ld w id e so c ia list d ictatorsh ip , under the
con trol o f the K rem lin."
In a 1 9 6 6 sp e e c h , W e lc h c o in ed the n am e "The Insiders" to d escrib e the lead ers o f the co n sp ira cy . T h e B irch S o c ie ty se e m s u n ab le to m ak e up
its m in d if the In sid ers are direct d escen d a n ts o f th e Illum inati F reem ason con sp iracy, although the b a sic c o n c ep t is clea rly related . D u rin g the
late 1 9 8 0 's and early 1990's the B irch lead ersh ip d o w n p la y ed the co n n e c tio n , w h ile in the late 1990's, the B irch b o o k list b eg a n sp ro u tin g titles
se e k in g to p ro v e the lin k to th e Illu m in ati F reem ason c o n sp ira cy . M a n y B irch m em b ers, and fou n d er W e lc h h im se lf, e x p r essed su pp ort fo r this
th esis, so m e tim e s in w ritin g, so m e tim e s at B irch p u b lic m eetin g s. A cco rd in g to the theory, there is an unbroken id e o lo g ic a lly -d r iv e n
co n sp ira cy lin k in g th e Illu m in ati, the F rench R e v o lu tio n , the rise o f M arxism and C o m m u n ism , the C o u n c il on F o reign R e la tio n s, and the
U n ite d N a tio n s. O f co u r se , n ot all B irch m em b ers agreed w ith e v ery th in g that W e lc h or th e S o c ie ty p rop osed . W elch 's fa m o u s b o o k , The
Politician , ca u sed a stir e v en a m o n g m an y loyal B irch m em b ers w h o w ere sh o ck ed b y W e lc h 's assertion that P resid en t D w ig h t D . E ise n h o w er
w a s "a d ed ica ted c o n s c io u s agen t o f th e c o m m u n ist con sp iracy."
B irch S o c ie ty in flu e n c e on U S p o litic s hit its high p oin t in the years around the fa iled 1964 presidential cam p aign o f R ep u b lica n can d id ate Barry
G o ld w a ter w h o lo st to in cu m b en t P resid en t L y n d o n Joh n son . W e lc h had su pp orted G o ld w a ter o v er N ix o n for th e 1 9 6 0 R ep u b lica n
n o m in a tio n , but the m em b ersh ip sp lit w ith tw o -th ird s su p p ortin g G o ld w ater and on e-th ird su p p ortin g N ix o n . A nu m b er o f B irch m em b ers and
their a llies w ere G o ld w a ter su pp orters in 1964 and so m e w ere d e leg a te s at the 1 9 6 4 R ep u b lican c o n v en tio n .
T h e John B irch Society White B ook w a s a sp iral-b ou n d c o lle c tio n o f all JBS Weekly Bulletins issu ed in the p rev io u s year and han ded to every
n e w m em b er. T h e Bulletins in th e 1 9 6 4 White Book con tain chatty and an ecd otal in form ation about the ca m p aign s im portant to the J B S . A
m ajor effo rt w a s co n d u cted under the slo g a n "Im peach Earl W arren," w h ich w a s reported to b e gen eratin g 5 0 0 letters per d a y to m em b ers o f
C o n g re ss. T h e JB S a lso so u g h t to restore prayer in sc h o o l, rep eal th e graduated personal in c o m e tax, stop " C om m u n ist in flu e n c e s w ith in our
co m m u n ic a tio n s m edia," and sto p th e "trend o f leg isla tio n by ju d icial fiat."
T h e phrase " leg isla tion b y ju d icia l fiat," w as w id e ly interpreted w ith in the JB S as o p p o sitio n to federal a ssista n c e to the g o a ls o f th e c iv il rights
m o v e m e n t o v er the o b je c tio n s o f p erso n s in sistin g that state's rights sh ou ld su p ersed e fed eral la w s. D u rin g its h ey d a y in th e m id -1 9 6 0 s the
B irch r esp o n se to the c iv il rights m o v e m e n t and urban unrest w a s to launch tw o " cam paigns under the banners o f S u p p ort Y o u r L o ca l P o lic e,
and E x p o s e T h e 'C iv il R ig h ts' Fraud.
T h e "Support Y o u r L o c a l P olice" ca m p a ig n o p p o se d the use o f federal o ffice rs to en fo rce c iv il rights la w s. "[T]he C o m m u n ist p ress o f A m erica
has b een screa m in g for years to h ave lo ca l p o lic e fo rces discred ited , sh un ted asid e, or d isb an d ed and rep laced b y F ed eral M arsh a ls or sim ilar
ag en ts and perso n n el o f a n ation al fed eralized p o lic e force," on e article com p lain ed . A n oth er reason articulated for o p p o sin g th e c iv il rights
m o v e m e n t w a s that it w a s a creation o f C o m m u n ists, and B irch m em b ers w ere urged to " S h ow th e c o m m u n ist han d s b eh in d it." A c co r d in g to a
1967 personal letter from W e lc h to retired G en eral Jam es A . V an F leet in vitin g him to serv e on the B irch N ation al C ou n cil:
= = = “F iv e y ears a g o , fe w p e o p le w h o w ere th orou gh ly fam iliar w ith the m ain d iv isio n s o f C o m m u n ist strategy sa w any c h a n c e o f k e e p in g the
N e g r o R ev o lu tio n a ry M o v e m e n t from rea ch in g d e c is iv e proportions. It w a s to su p p ly the fla m in g front to the w h o le 'proletarian r ev o lu tio n ,’ as
plan n ed b y W a lter R eu th er and h is sto o g e , B o b b y K ennedy"
D e sp ite its o p p o sitio n to c iv il righ ts, th rough out this p eriod th e JB S had a han dfu l o f b lack c o n se r v a tiv e m em b ers w h o su p p orted th is p o sitio n
o n p h ilo so p h ica l gro u n d s in v o lv in g states righ ts, e c o n o m ic lib ertarian ism , and o p p o sitio n to a lle g e d c o m m u n ist su b v ersio n o f th e c iv il rights
m o v em en t.
T h e JB S sim u lta n e o u sly d isco u ra g ed o v ert d isp la y s o f racism , w h ile it p rom oted p o lic ie s that had the e ffe c t o f racist o p p r e ssio n by its
o p p o sitio n to th e C iv il R ig h ts m o v em en t. T h e d eg ree o f p o litica l racism e x p ressed by th e JB S w a s not "extrem ist" but sim ila r to that o f m any
m ainstream R ep u b lica n and D em o cra tic e le cte d o ffic ia ls at th e tim e. T h is le v e l o f m ainstream racism sh ou ld not b e d ism isse d lig h tly , as it w as
o ften cru de and so m e tim e s v io le n t, treating B la ck p eo p le in particular as se c o n d -c la ss citizen s, m o st o f w h o m had lim ited in te llig e n c e and little
a m b itio n . In A la n S tan g's b o o k p u b lish e d b y th e J B S , It's Very Simple: The True Story o f C ivil Rights, R e v . M artin L u th er K in g , Jr. is
portrayed as an a g en t o f a m a ss iv e c o m m u n ist con sp ira cy to agitate am on g oth erw ise hap py N e g r o e s to fo m en t rev o lu tio n , or at lea st prom ote
d em a n d s for m ore c o lle c tiv is t fed eral g o vern m en t intrusion.
T h e sa m e is true w ith JB S le v e ls o f personal and political an tisem itism . W h en crude a n tisem itism w a s d etected in JB S m em b ers, their
m em b ersh ip w a s rev o k ed . T h e m o st celeb rated in cid en t in v o lv ed B irch lead er R e v ilo P. O liv er w h o m o v ed o v e r to w ork w ith W illis Carto and
the L iberty L o b b y after b ein g forced to resign from the B irch S o c iety for m ak in g an tisem itic and W h ite su p rem acist c o m m e n ts at a 1 9 6 6 B irch
rally.
T h e B irch S o c iety p rom oted th e b o o k None D are Call It Conspiracy b y G ary A lle n w h o in clu d ed a d u b io u s d isc u s sio n o f th e R o th sc h ild s and
other J ew ish banlcing interests as part o f a sk etch o f a m uch larger con sp iracy in v o lv in g fin an cial and p olitica l e lites and the C o u n c il o n F oreign
R ela tio n s. A lle n e x p lic itly rejected the id ea that b y fo c u sin g on the early roll o f the R o th sch ild s in in v estm en t b an k in g h e w a s p ro m o tin g a
th eory o f a J e w ish con sp iracy:
== =" A n ti-S em ites h a v e p la y ed in to th e han ds o f the co n sp iracy by tryin g to portray the entire con sp ira cy as J ew ish . N o th in g c o u ld b e farther
from th e truth. T h e trad ition ally A n g lo -S a x o n J. P. M organ and R o c k e feller international b an king in stitu tion s h ave p la y ed a k e y ro le in the
co n sp ira cy . B u t there is no d e n y in g th e im p ortan ce o f the R o th sch ild s and their satellites. H o w e v e r it is ju st as u n reason ab le and im m o ra l to
b la m e all J ew s for th e c rim es o f the R o th sch ild s as it is to h old all B a p tists accou n tab le for th e crim es o f th e R o c k e feller s.
N ic e ly put, y e t A lle n u sed in se n sitiv e load ed la n gu age con cern in g the "cosm opolitan" nature o f the "international bankers," and he slip p ed
w h en co m p a rin g J e w s to A n g lo -S a x o n s , m ix in g issu e s o f race, e th n ic ity , and r elig io n . H e se e m e d sin cere in rejectin g o v ert and c o n sc io u s
a n tisem itism and did n o t se e m to b e c lo a k in g a hid den hatred or distrust o f Jew s, but h e in clu d ed a h y p erb o lic and in accu rate a ssessm e n t o f the
role o f the R o th sc h ild s, W arb u rgs, and other J e w s com p ared to the n o n -J ew ish b an k in g in terests that g r ew a lo n g w ith ind ustrial ca p ita lism .
T h e p rob lem w a s u n in ten tion al, but still real, and the stereotyp e o f a Jew ish esta b lish m en t w a s clearer in A llen 's oth er w o rk , as M in tz
ex p la in ed , "A co n sp ira cist u n im p ressed by a n ti-S em itism co u ld con stru e the m aterial d ifferen tly from a co n firm ed s o c io lo g ic a l a n ti-S em ite,
w h o co u ld fin d a c o d ific a tio n o f h is fears and anxieties."
In a sim ilar fa sh io n th e S o c ie ty p rom oted co n sp ira cist theories that in v o lv ed m ild a n tisem itism , and W e lc h o n c e bu ttressed h is cla im s o f the
Illum inati c o n sp ira cy b y c itin g n otoriou s B ritish a n tisem ite N e sta W eb ster. A t its core, h o w ev e r, the B irch v ie w o f th e co n sp ir a c y d o e s not
rev ea l it to b e c o n tr o lled o r sig n ifica n tly in flu e n c ed by J ew s in gen eral, or a secret grou p o f co n n iv in g J ew s, nor is their e v id e n c e o f a hid den
a g en d a w ith in the S o c ie ty to p rom ote su sp ic io n o f Jew s. T h e S o c ie ty a lw a y s stru ggled again st w h at it sa w as o b je c tio n a b le fo rm s o f prejudice
a gain st J ew s, b u t it c a n still b e critic ize d for h a v in g c o n tin u o u sly p rom oted m ild a n tisem itic stereo ty p in g . N e v e r th e le s s, th e JB S w a s c lo ser to
m ainstream stereo ty p in g and b igotry than the nak ed race hate and g en o c id a l an tisem itism o f n eon azi or K K K gro u p s. W h e n th e S o c iety
p rom oted a h isto ric tract ab ou t th e c o n sp ira cy , it w a s u su a lly their reprint o f R o b iso n 's Proofs o f a Conspiracy .
In a se n se, the B irch so c ie ty p io n eered th e e n c o d in g o f im p licit cultural form s o f eth n ocen tric W h ite racism and C h ristian n a tion a list
a n tisem itism rather than rely in g o n the W h ite su p rem acist b io lo g ic a l d eterm in ism and op en loath in g o f Jew s that had ty p ified th e o ld right prior
to W W U . T h ro u g h o u t its e x is te n c e , h o w e v e r , th e S o c ie ty has p rom oted o p en h o m o p h o b ia and se x ism .
T h e S o c iety 's a n ti-co m m u n ism and states rights lib ertarianism w a s b ased on sin cere p rin cip les, but it clearly serv ed as a c o v e r fo r o r g a n izin g
by se g r eg a tio n ists and W h ite su p rem a cists. H o w m uch o f this w a s c o n s c io u s , and h o w m uch u n co n sc io u s, is d iffic u lt to d e term in e. T h at th e
B irch S o c ie ty clea rly attracted m em b ers w ith a m ore h a te-filled (e v en fa sc istic) agen d a is u n deniable, and th ese m ore z ea lo u s e le m e n ts u sed the
JB S as a recru itm en t p o o l from w h ich to draw person s tow ard a m ore n eon azi stan ce on issu e s o f race and cu ltu re. A s B irch m em b ers a ssisted
in b u ild in g g ra ssro o ts su p p ort for G old w ater's R ep u b lica n p resid en tial b id in 1 9 6 4 , c ritics o f th e JB S h ig h lig h te d th e grou p 's m o re u n sa v o ry
e le m e n ts as a w a y to d isc r ed it G o ld w a ter, w h o w a s la b eled an ex trem ist. F or the J B S , h o w ev er, G o ld w a ter w as a c o m p r o m is e can d id ate. JB S
record s from 1 9 6 4 reveal B irch m isg iv in g s abou t the p o litical reliab ility o f G old w ater. N ew sp a p e r articles from the B irch arch iv es sh o w
G old w a ter q u o tes that c o n flic t w ith B irch d o g m a h ea v ily un derlined and sp orting r o w s o f q u estion m arks; y e t a racist and an tisem itic attack on
G old w a ter b y th e W h ite su p rem acist Thunderbolt, is la b eled "P oison," w ith a b old pen stroke.
A fter G o ld w a ter w a s so u n d ly drubbed in the general e le ctio n , W elch tried earn estly to recruit another p olitician to a c ce p t th e B irch torch -form er
A la b a m a G o v ern o r G eo rg e W a lla c e . "It is the am b ition and the in ten tion o f R ichard N ix o n , du rin g the n e x t e ig h t years, to m ak e h im s e lf the
dictator o f the w orld," w arned W e lc h in a N o v e m b e r 11, 1968 p o st-ele ctio n letter to W a lla c e . "The p e o p le o f th is cou n try are read y for an
a n ti-C o m m u n ist cru sad e b eh in d so m e p o litica l lead er w h o really m ean s it," w rote W e lc h urging W a lla c e to adopt th e B irch platform .
T h e m ore pragm atic c o n se r v a tiv e s and reaction aries w h o had b een fu n d raisin g and o rg a n izin g sp ec ia lists du rin g the G o ld w a ter ca m p a ig n w o u ld
form the co re o f w h a t b eca m e k n o w n as th e N e w R igh t. A lth o u g h m any N e w R ig h t and n ew C hristian R ig h t a c tiv ists w ere g r o o m ed through
the B irch S o c ie ty , th e group's co re co n sp ira cism , p assio n a te and a g g r essiv e p o litic s, and its la b e lin g b y critics as a radical righ t ex trem ist group
tainted by a n tisem itism and racism , w ere se e n as im p ed im en ts to su cc e ssfu l electoral o rg an izin g. T h e B irch S o c ie ty b eca m e a pariah. In th e late
1 9 7 0 ’s the N e w R ig h t co a litio n o f secu lar and C hristian co n serv a tiv es and reaction aries em erg ed as a p o w erfu l fo rce on the A m erica n p olitical
lan d sca p e, and w a s in flu en tial in h elp in g e le c t R on ald R eagan to the p resid en cy in 1980. T h e e clip se d B irch S o c ie ty sa w its in flu e n c e d w in d le
e v en further after R ea gan to o k o ffic e , and further still after they attack ed R eagan 's p o licie s.
W h en R o b ert F. W e lc h d ie d in 1 9 8 5 , the B irch S o c ie ty had shrunk to le s s than 5 0 ,0 0 0 m em b ers. T h ere then e n su ed an internal stru g g le o v e r
w h o w o u ld grab the rein s o f th e org a n iza tio n . T h e victors e v en alien ated W elch 's w id o w w h o d en o u n ced the n e w lead ersh ip from her
retirem en t h o m e in W e sto n , M A . M a g a z in e su b scrip tion s, o ften a c lo s e parallel to m em b ersh ip , fe ll from 5 0 ,0 0 0 to 3 0 ,0 0 0 to 1 5 ,0 0 0 .
T h e c o lla p s e o f co m m u n ism in E urope and th e end o f the C o ld W ar m igh t h a v e sign aled the end o f th e B irch S o c ie ty , but th e U N role in the
G u lf W ar and P resid en t B u s h ’s c a ll for a N e w W orld Order u n w ittin gly e c h o e d B irch c la im s abou t the g o a ls o f th e in tern ation alist O n e W orld
G o v ern m en t c o n sp ir a c y . A s g r o w in g r ig h t-w in g p o p u lism sparked n e w le v e ls o f c y n ic ism regarding p o litic ia n s, and e c o n o m ic and s o c ia l fears
sp ark ed righ tist b a c k la sh m o v e m e n ts, th e B irch S o c ie ty p o sitio n ed it s e lf as the group that for d eca d es had its fin g e rs on the p u lse o f the
c o n sp ira cy b eh in d th e cou n try's d e c lin e . B e tw e e n 1 9 8 8 and 1995 the B irch S o c ie ty at least d o u b led , and perhaps trip led its m em b ersh ip to o v er
5 5 ,0 0 0 .
In the Birch O rbit
C o n sp ira cist a n ti-c o m m u n ism sim ila r to that offered by the JB S w a s w id esp read on the n ativ ist righ t du rin g the 19 5 0 s and 1 9 6 0 s. In ad d ition to
th e b o o k s by G ary A lle n , R ob ert W e lc h , D a n S m o o t, and A la n S tan g are en o u g h b o o k s in the genre to fill sev era l library sh e lv e s.
A m o n g th e m o st in flu en tial lead ers o f th e cou n tersu b version m o v em en t again st the glo b a l c o m m u n ist con sp ira cy fo llo w in g th e M cC arthy
p eriod w a s D r. F red S ch w a rtz and h is C a liforn ia-b ased C hristian A n ti-c o m m u n ism C rusade. A tire le ss lecturer, S ch w a rtz in 1 9 6 0 authored
You Can Trust the C om m unists (to be C omm unists) w h ich so ld o v e r o n e m illio n co p ies.S ch w a rtz 's n e w sle tter o n c e su g g e s te d that
c o m m u n ists p ro m o te abortion, p orn ograp h y, h o m o sex u a lity , ven ereal d ise a se and m ass m urder as w a y s to w e a k e n the m oral fib er o f A m erica
and p a v e th e w a y fo r a c o m m u n ist tak eover.
T h e a ssa u lt o n A m e r ic a by fo r ce s o f g o d le ss co m m u n ism w ere central th em es in three oth er w id e ly distribu ted b o o k s w h ich w ere u sed to
m o b iliz e su p p ort for th e 1 9 6 4 G o ld w a te r ca m p a ig n . T h e b est k n ow n b o o k w a s P h y llis S c h la fly 's A Choice, N ot an Echo w h ic h su g g ested a
co n sp ira cist th eory in w h ich th e R ep u b lica n Party w a s secretly con trolled b y elitist in tellectu als d om in ated by m em b ers o f th e B ild erb erger
b a n k in g c o n fe r e n c e , w h o s e p o lic ie s w ere d e sig n e d to usher in g lo b a l c o m m u n ist c o n q u est.S ch la fly 's h u sb and F red had b e e n a lecturer at
S ch w artz's lo c a l C h ristian A n ti-c o m m u n ism C rusade co n fe re n c es. T h e title "A Choice, N o t an E ch o ” b e c a m e o n e o f G old w ater's ca m p a ig n
s lo g a n s .
S c h la fly elab orate o n the th em e o f the g lo b a l co m m u n ist co n sp ira cy and its w ittin g and un w ittin g d o m e stic a llie s in The Gravediggers, a b o o k
o n m ilitary prep ared n ess co-au th ored w ith retired R ear A d m iral C h ester W ard. W ard, a m em b er o f th e N a tio n a l S trategy C o m m ittee o f the
A m erica n S ecu rity C o u n c il w a s also a lecturer at the F o reign P o lic y R esearch Institute w h ich form u lated m any b enchm ark C old W ar
a n ti-co m m u n ist str a te g ie s. The Gravediggers, c la im ed U .S . m ilitary strategy and tactics w a s actu ally d e sig n e d to p ave the w a y fo r global
c o m m u n ist c o n q u est. The Gravediggers w a s tailored to support the G o ld w a ter cam p aign .
O ften o v e r lo o k e d b e c a u se o f th e p u b licity su rroun ding A Choice, Not an Echo w a s John Storm er's, None Dare Call it Treason, w h ich
o u tlin ed h o w the e q u iv o c a tio n o f W a sh in g to n insid ers w o u ld pave the w a y for g lo b a l co m m u n ist con q u est. None Dare Call it Treason so ld
o v e r se v e n m illio n c o p ie s , m ak in g it o n e o f the larg est-sellin g paperback b o o k s o f the d ay. T h e b ack c o v e r su m m a rizes th e te x t as d eta ilin g "the
c o m m u n ist-so c ia list c o n sp ira cy to e n sla v e A m e r ic a ” and d o cu m en tin g "the concurrent d e c a y in A m erica's s c h o o ls , ch u rch es, and p ress w h ich
has co n d itio n ed the A m erica n p e o p le to accep t 2 0 years o f retreat in the face o f the co m m u n ist enem y." Storm er up dated h is tex t in th e late
19 8 0 's to ex p a n d o n h is th eo ry , sh iftin g h is fo c u s from an ti-co m m u n ism to c la im secu la r h u m an ism n o w p la y ed a k e y ro le in u n d erm in in g
A m erica.
O n e o f the co re id ea s o f the U S right is that m o d e m lib eralism is an ally o f c o lle c tiv is m and a h an d m aid en for g o d le ss co m m u n ism .
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R ea d T erm s & C o n d itio n s for D o w n lo a d in g , C o p y in g , P rin tin g, & L in k in g . C o p y rig h t 1 9 9 7 , P R A