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John Birch Society

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John Birch Society book store.

A Mid-Century Playbook for Saving Progressive American Education

Fifty years ago, parents united to get the far-right John Birch Society out of their schools.
by Matthew Dallek via Zócalo Public Square on September 19, 2023
John Birch Society banner over table with books

How the John Birch Society Won the Long Game

The American right doesn’t need the John Birch Society these days, but that is because it’s adopted the Birchers’ extremism wholesale.
by Nathan J. Robinson via The Nation on June 8, 2023
Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right

‘Birchers,’ a Well-Told, Familiar Entry in the ‘How We Got to Trump’ Genre

In his history of the John Birch Society, Matthew Dallek says Republicans allowed the extreme fringe to “eventually cannibalize the entire party.”
by Sam Adler-Bell via Washington Post on March 22, 2023
A John Birch Society billboard in Stratton, Colorado, calls for the impeachment of Chief Justice Earl Warren, December 1962.

The Fringe Group That Broke the GOP’s Brain — And Helped It Win Elections

The John Birch Society pushed a darker, more conspiratorial politics in the ’50s and ’60s — and looms large over today’s GOP.
by Matthew Dallek, Ian Ward via Vox on March 19, 2023
Trump speaking to a crowd; Robert Welch at a podium.

How Far-Right Movements Die

The decline of the John Birch Society offers possible strategies for containing the MAGA movement.
by Matthew Dallek via The Atlantic on March 16, 2023
Members of the John Birch Society pledging allegiance to the flag at a meeting, Chicago, 1961.

The Birchers & the Trumpers

A new biography of Robert Welch traces the origins and history of the anti-Communist John Birch Society and provides historical perspective on the Trump era.
by James Mann via New York Review of Books on June 2, 2022
An elderly Robert Welch sitting at a desk in a wood-paneled office.

We All Live in the John Birch Society’s World Now

In his lifetime, Robert Welch toiled in the mocked and marginal fringe. Today his ideas are the mainstream of the American right.
by Chris Lehmann via The New Republic on November 23, 2021
Ronald Reagan at a news conference in Los Angeles on Jan. 4, 1965, after announcing that he would run for governor of California.

Long Before QAnon, Ronald Reagan and The GOP Purged John Birch Extremists From The Party

Six decades ago, leaders in the GOP backed away from the conspiracy theories peddled by the leader of the increasingly influential John Birch Society.
by Erick Trickey via Retropolis on January 15, 2021

A TV Documentary Shows the Deep Roots of Right-Wing Conspiracy

In 1964, the John Birch Society was the most active far-right group in the United States—unless you count the Republican Party.
by Richard Brody via The New Yorker on January 14, 2021

Remembering Baseball’s Right-Wing Rotation

When three Padres pitchers joined the John Birch Society in 1984, the sports world was challenged by a different kind of political activism.
by Bryan Curtis via The Ringer on October 31, 2017
Robert Welch, founder of the John Birch Society, standing next to a portrait of the group's namesake, Captain John Morrison Birch.

December 9, 1958: The John Birch Society Is Founded

“Together with other ‘know nothing’ organizations scattered through the country, it represents a basic, continuing phenomenon in American society.”
by Richard Kreitner, Hans Engh via The Nation on December 9, 1958
Sen. Joe McCarthy confers with Roy Cohn during a hearing of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

A Not-So-Hostile Takeover

Long before the rise of Trump, the American conservative mainstream enjoyed a complex partnership with the Far Right.
by Gillis J. Harp via Commonweal on October 4, 2024
J. D. Vance speaking at a campaign rally for Donald Trump.

J. D. Vance Is Summoning the John Birch Society

Far from a novel form of populism, J. D. Vance’s appeals are indistinguishable from the economic vision of the 1970s John Birch Society.
by David Austin Walsh via Jacobin on July 29, 2024
Cover of "Outrageous," with tomato on face of man holding microphone

Endless Culture Wars

On Kliph Nesteroff’s book, “Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars.”
by Chris Yogerst via Los Angeles Review of Books on December 1, 2023
A GOP Elephant locked up in a padded cell.

It Didn’t Start with Trump: The Decades-Long Saga of How the GOP Went Crazy

The modern Republican Party has always exploited and encouraged extremism.
by David Corn via Mother Jones on September 9, 2022
Paul Ryan against a background of graph paper and a dotted line.

The Struggle for the Soul of the GOP

Is the Republican Party compatible with democracy?
by Timothy Shenk via The New Republic on April 12, 2022
"Impeach Earl Warren" billboard by the John Birch Society.

Rise of the Far-Right Ultras

A new book shows just how porous the dividing line has been between the far right and mainstream conservatism.
by Kim Phillips-Fein via The Nation on January 11, 2022
Man giving speech to White Citizens' Council
partner

Before the Anti-CRT Activists, There Were White Citizens’ Councils

Banning such teaching isn’t colorblind; it would erase Black people from history and maintain White cultural dominance.
by David A. Love via Made By History on July 28, 2021
An illustration featuring Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The John Birch Society Never Left

Why it’s foolish to think the modern GOP will ever break with its lunatic fringe.
by Rick Perlstein, Edward H. Miller via The New Republic on March 8, 2021
Mitch McConnell wearing a mask
partner

McConnell’s Task: Purging the Crackpots and Bigots

The impeachment exposed the need for Republican leaders to banish the extremists and bigots from their movement.
by Kevin M. Schultz via Made By History on February 15, 2021
Nelson Rockefeller and Barry Goldwater at the 1964 Republican National Convention

How the GOP Surrendered to Extremism

Sixty years ago, many GOP leaders resisted radicals in their ranks. Now they’re not even trying.
by Ronald Brownstein via The Atlantic on February 4, 2021

Police and Racist Vigilantes: Even Worse Than You Think

Is Trump a fascist? You should ask the same question of your local police.
by John Knefel via The American Prospect on September 10, 2020
William F. Buckley, Jr. being interviewed on What’s Happening Mr. Silver.
partner

On the Right: NET and Modern Conservatism

In the 1960s, the precursor to PBS explored the burgeoning conservative movement, providing a remarkable window into the history of conservatism.
by Allison Perlman via American Archive of Public Broadcasting on January 22, 2020
Senator Joseph R. McCarthy speaking

The Paranoid Style in American Politics

It had been around a long time before the Radical Right discovered it.
by Richard Hofstadter via Harper’s on November 1, 1964
Demonstrators in 1977 hold signs protesting a treaty returning control of the Panama Canal to Panama.
partner

The Panama Canal Could Help Unify Trump's Fractious Movement

In the 1970s, a conservative coalition came together to fight ceding control of the Panama Canal—proving the political potency of the issue.
by Aaron Coy Moulton via Made By History on January 16, 2025
The Battle for the Mind (Tim LaHaye, 1980); from Creationism to Christian Nationalism

The Battle for the Mind (Tim LaHaye, 1980); from Creationism to Christian Nationalism

Tim LaHaye bridged Reagan-era anti-Communism to today’s Christian Nationalism, opposing humanism, evolution, and secularism, emphasizing biblical morality.
by Paul Braterman via 3 Quarks Daily on December 29, 2024
Francisco Franco and Ronald Reagan in Madrid, 1972.

The Autocratic Allure

Why the far right embraces foreign tyrants.
by Beverly Gage via Foreign Affairs on August 20, 2024
Barry Goldwater giving a speech at the Republican National Convention.
partner

The Republican National Convention That Shocked the Country

The pulsating anger in San Francisco 60 years ago became the party's animating spirit.
by Charles J. Holden via Made By History on July 17, 2024
1957 U.S. Supreme Court Justices
partner

Super Chief

Reconsidering Earl Warren's place in U.S. history.
by Michael Bobelian via HNN on May 14, 2024
William F. Buckley Jr. at a press conference.

An Implausible Mr. Buckley

A new PBS documentary whitewashes the conservative founder of National Review.
by Rick Perlstein via The American Prospect on April 17, 2024
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