Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars: How the John Birch Society Shifted Conservative Politics and the Overton Window to the Extreme Right from 1964-1974

Abstract

In 1958, a politically far-right, anticommunist group known as the John Birch Society (JBS) was formed by Robert Welch, with the express purpose of fighting against communist influences in the United States. Like most Americans during the Cold War, the JBS saw communism as both a direct and existential threat to the United States, and the American way of life. Through techniques such as grassroots organizing, astroturfing, direct action, financial backing by wealthy elites, maintaining an air of secrecy, and the manipulation of mass media, the JBS pioneered a new formula of political activity that would eventually permeate and transform the Republican Party. Although the popularity and influence of the JBS waxed and waned over the decades, Birchers had a massive overall impact on mainstream conservatism. From 1964 to 1974, the JBS emerged as the most effective alternative force within the establishment GOP, as it worked to platform and popularize far-right beliefs. Although JBS-backed political candidates did not always win – Republican Barry Goldwater lost the 1964 presidential election despite the Birch Society’s support for example – the group’s success cannot be measured solely in electoral votes or election victories. Instead, after 1974, the JBS acted as a precursor of 21st century conservatism, providing an organizational blueprint that later iterations of the political right followed. What resulted was a distinct formula that has been repeatedly copied, ad nauseum, by contemporary conservative bodies and organizations. Not only was the Birch Society’s technique emulated, but these new entities were often founded directly by JBS members themselves. Figures such as Fred Koch, Paul Viguerie, and Paul Weyrich were all JBS members and financial backers, who went on to become transformative figures within the far right from 1974, onwards into the 21st century. This thesis contributes to a growing body of historical scholarship that has linked the JBS to the rise of everything from the “New Right” and Ronald Reagan, to the Tea Party and Donald Trump.