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A Historian Talks the John Birch Paranoid Blues

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A Historian Talks the John Birch Paranoid Blues D. J. Mulloy. The World of the John Birch Society: Conspiracy, Conservatism, and the Cold War. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2014. 296 pp. $35.00, cloth, ISBN 978-0-8265-1981-8. Reviewed by Jason Roberts Published on H-1960s (December, 2015) Commissioned by Zachary J. Lechner (Centenary College of Louisiana) In The World of the John Birch Society, D. J. prodigy turned candy manufacturer turned cru‐ Mulloy, associate professor of history at Wilfrid sading anti-Communist. Welch regarded the death Laurier University, offers a concise examination of missionary John Birch at the hands of the Chi‐ of the ideology of the infamous, conspiracy-mind‐ nese Communists in 1945 as the beginning of the ed right-wing organization. While in no way en‐ Cold War. In 1958, he formed the John Birch Soci‐ dorsing the ideas of the John Birch Society (JBS), ety and dedicated it to challenging the ubiquitous Mulloy offers an empathetic look at the group and threat of Communism. To Welch, the Communists places it within the context of post-World War II had infiltrated every aspect of American life and American society. were clearly winning the Cold War. Signs of Com‐ The arrangement of The World of the John munist infiltration could be seen in the White Birch Society is clear and simple. The book is or‐ House (Dwight D. Eisenhower was a Communist ganized into six chapters. The frst three chapters agent, according to Welch), the Supreme Court, trace the organization from its beginning in 1958 public education, the civil rights movement, and to its expulsion from the conservative movement the United Nations. by William F. Buckley Jr. and National Review in Mulloy recounts the various responses to the 1965. The fnal three chapters take a thematic ap‐ John Birch Society. Such responses ranged from proach, covering such topics as civil rights, the ridicule (such as Bob Dylan’s classic song “Talkin’ Cold War, the Vietnam War, and conspiracy theo‐ John Birch Paranoid Blues”) to attacking its mem‐ ries. bers as representing what historian Richard Hofs‐ Much of Mulloy’s account will be familiar to tadter termed the “paranoid style in American scholars of the JBS and conservatism. He exam‐ politics.”[1] Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright ines the rise of JBS founder Robert Welch, a child worried about the John Birch Society indoctrinat‐ ing the military (especially right-wing army offi‐ H-Net Reviews cer Edwin Walker), and John F. Kennedy clearly civil rights movement was not controlled by the considered the organization a threat to national Communist Party, some of Martin Luther King Jr.’s security. Some conservative politicians were slow associates (including Stanley Levinson and Jack to distance themselves from the organization, be‐ O’Dell) were former members of the Communist cause though they had some disagreements with Party. Welch, they did not want to offend the rank-and- Mulloy also defends the JBS against charges of file members whom they regarded as patriotic Fascism. He contends that “the Birch Society Americans. Other conservatives, such as Buckley, failed to manifest enough of what might be the condemned the conspiratorial thinking of the JBS generally agreed upon characteristics of Fascism and wrote the organization out of the conserva‐ to warrant the classification.” Mulloy points out tive movement. Ronald Reagan successfully de‐ that Welch did not ft the criteria of “the fascist flected efforts to link him to the Birchers during charismatic leader” and the John Birch Society his 1966 campaign for governor of California by was not anti-Semitic (p. 63). On the other hand, he insisting that anyone who voted for him support‐ asserts that it is “entirely understandable” why ed his agenda and that he did not support theirs. Americans worried about a Fascist takeover in the Mulloy notes that the turning point in the for‐ early 1960s (p. 64). tunes of the JBS occurred during the 1964 cam‐ On the issue of civil rights, Mulloy rejects the paign when the Republican presidential candi‐ notion that Welch and the JBS were overt racists. date (and devout conservative) Barry Goldwater He believes that their opposition to the civil rights failed to renounce the JBS. Mulloy cites a number movement was motivated by their obsession with of reasons for Goldwater’s decision, including his Communism and their belief in states’ rights. He friendship with a number of JBS leaders, his ad‐ points out that their analysis of the Watts riots miration for its members, the need to take advan‐ and King’s assassination reflected their conspira‐ tage of Birchers’ energy and enthusiasm for his torial views of Communism rather than rank big‐ campaign, and Goldwater’s belief that charges of otry. extremism against the organization were politi‐ On the issue of the Cold War, Mulloy main‐ cally motivated. Goldwater’s failure to denounce tains that there is some merit within Welch’s con‐ right-wing extremism and the JBS was one of spiratorial thinking. In the aftermath of the Soviet many reasons why he lost the 1964 campaign. In launch of Sputnik and amid charges of a “missile the aftermath of the election, Buckley and Nation‐ gap” that favored the Soviet Union, Welch was al Review denounced the JBS and formally wrote one of the few to insist that Soviet gains were illu‐ it out of the conservative movement. The organi‐ sory. In retrospect, it is clear that Soviet gains zation never recovered from the 1964 campaign were overestimated. However, Welch’s insights and Buckley’s repudiation. were undermined by his conspiratorial assertions To his credit, Mulloy does not fall into the trap about the Soviet Union, such as his charge that of dismissing the John Birch Society and its mem‐ Nikita Khrushchev was not in charge of the USSR. bers as “paranoid” and suffering from “status Without a doubt, The World of the John Birch anxiety,” as does Hofstadter. Instead, while ac‐ Society is a thorough, fair, and nuanced examina‐ knowledging them as conspiratorial, he seeks to tion of the controversial organization. While place their ideas within the context of the times. many readers will be familiar with most of Mul‐ He shows that there was a gloss of plausibility to loy’s story, his book is a must-read for anyone who Welch’s views that made them appealing to many wants to understand the mind-set of the JBS. Americans in the 1960s. For example, while the 2 H-Net Reviews Note [1]. Richard Hofstadter, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” Harper's Magazine (No‐ vember 1964): 77-86. If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at https://networks.h-net.org/h-1960s Citation: Jason Roberts. Review of Mulloy, D. J. The World of the John Birch Society: Conspiracy, Conservatism, and the Cold War. H-1960s, H-Net Reviews. December, 2015. URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=43113 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 3.
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