John Birch Society pamphlets (MS.2014.001)

Historical note

The John Birch Society was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, on December 9, 1958. Robert Welch, Jr. (1899–1985), a retired candy manufacturer, led the organization from its founding until his retirement in 1983. The Society's purpose was to combat communism and promote various ultraconservative causes. It was named in honor of John Birch, an American Baptist missionary and United States Army intelligence officer who was killed by Chinese communists on August 25, 1945, making him, in the Society’s view, the first casualty of the Cold War. Although it does not release membership numbers, the Society was estimated to have between 60,000 and 100,000 members at the height of its activities during the 1960's. By 1985 the membership was estimated to be about 50,000.

The Society published the periodicals American Opinion and The Review of the News as well as pamphlets from the Society's Movement to Restore Decency (MOTOCREDE). Most of the pamphlets in this collection are reprints from Society publications and reflect right-wing political views on issues such as communism, popular culture and sex education in American schools. Other pamphlets were published by the American Jewish Committee, one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations in the United States; the Daughters of Saint Paul, a Catholic publishing house in Boston, Massachusetts; Ensign Publishing Company in Salt Lake City, Utah, whose publications include works on religion and anti-communism; Pathfinder Press, publishers of works on Marxist theory and socialist political analysis; and the Workers Library Publishers, which published pamphlets for the Workers Party of America. The Workers Party of America was the name of the legal party organization used by the Communist Party USA from the last days of 1921 until the middle of 1929. Athanasius Press, not to be confused with the religious affiliated press of the same name in Monroe, Louisiana, was created by John H. deTar, M.D., in order to published his right-wing political writings.