Biography of: John Birch, Robert Welch, and The John
Birch Society
Author: Shawn Keenan
Timeline
Leadership Style
Political Philosophy
Timeline
Dec 1, 1899 It was on this date that Robert Welch, the future founder of The John Birch Society was born. Welch was born into a family that is known for its farmers and Baptist preachers. It was a time when self-reliance, moral uprightness, good manners, respect for hard work, and integrity were the standards Americans held. Welch was reared into these characteristics and never forgot them, no matter the circumstances, especially honesty/integrity. Welch always said, "most of the ills of the world would disappear if people would just start telling the truth." He was home schooled for the first part of his life - this began when he was a mere two years old. At the age of three he was capable of not only reading, but reading well. By the age of four he had memorized his multiplications, and had a firm grasp of algebra by the age of six. At seven he had a desire to study Latin and read the nine volumes of John Clark Ridpath's History of the World. I t was these writings by Ridpath that helped mold Welch into the Americanist that he became. Welch then entered high school at the unusual age of ten, followed by the University of North Carolina at age 12. Welch performed amazingly, graduating from UNC in the top third of his class at 16 years of age. Following UNC he quenched his curiosity for law, for the next two and a half years, at Harvard's Law school. Needless to say, Robert Welch was a very educated individual.
1918 It was on this date in which the world would never be the same - John Birch was born. He came from a spiritual background with both of his parents being missionaries. John was the eldest of his siblings and at an early age showed great potential to be a leader. Not only was he intellectually sharp be he also had a firm grasp of the Christian faith. It was at the age of eleven in which while speaking to his pastor said that he wished to answer the call to the ministry - specifically the mission field. Not only did he know what he was going to do with his life, but he knew where he was to go as well. After hearing about Chinese communists killing missionaries he knew all too well where he was heading. He said, "I know the big enemy is communism, but the Lord has called me. My life is in His hands, and I am not turning back." Birch later attended Mercer University and really excelled graduating with the honor of magna cum laude. Despite that fact that he had achieved excellence while in school he never forgot his dream of reaching out to China.
1939 It was now, at age 21, that John finally leaves home for China. Japan is invading China as Birch is arriving. At this point these two countries have been at war with for the past three years. After arriving in China and learning the language John was fearless in his attempt to share the gospel with the Chinese, not even a major war was going to stand in his way. Quite frequently, though, his mission was put on pause due to malaria, but because he was in such profound physical condition it never stopped him for long. Japan's attack was getting more and more ruthless, so the State Department ordered all missionaries out of China. One problem… John refused to go. John had developed countless relationships with the Chinese and was adored by many. He was finally making an impact and now was ordered to leave - no way. He was determined to some how find a way to stay. At this point the US is about to enter the war, but being a clergyman meant he was exempt from the draft. His only resort was to volunteer. He was no pacifist, and felt that if he was to continue his greater cause of delivering the message to the people of China then he was going to have to take advantage of the opportunity at hand. That opportunity being joining the US military and getting sent back over seas to China with the rest of our troops to aid the Chinese in their effort to fight off the Japanese. Birch then happens to be at the right place at the right time. He accidentally rescued General James Doolittle. From this point Birch was appointed head over General Claire Chennault's "intelligence department" - with the permission to preach whenever he had the opportunity. It was General Chennault's 14th Air Force that Birch was the intelligence for - known as the Flying Tigers. Birch was the "eyes" of the outfit. He lead downed airmen to safety. He was nothing short of brilliant, and due to his courage and unparalleled ability to lead he was promoted to Captain.
Aug. 14, 1945 The war has officially ended, but communists were taking over the defeated Japanese bases and airfields.
Aug. 25, 1945 In an attempt to stop the communist take-over Captain Birch and a band of eleven are sent out to claim one of the bases in Suchow, Japan. Birch and his group was stopped along the way to Suchow by a group of Chinese communists. Birch and his Chinese aide got separated from the rest of the group. After given the order to disarm Birch, his aide tried to stop them. The aide's actions got he and Birch shot in the leg as a means of stopping their revolt. From here Birch's ankles were bound and he was forced to kneel in preparation for his demise. He was shot in the back of his head - execution style - and his face has smashed with the butt's of their guns. The aide was also beaten and left for dead. The aide lived though, to tell the magnificent story of John Birch. The story of John Birch and his murder were stamped Top Secret and placed under lock and key. However, the story that was told to Birch's parents read like this, "There was a clash between Chinese Central Government forces and irregular Chinese troops and your son was struck by a stray bullet… his death was instantaneous and without pain."
1950 Robert Welch, a candy manufacture, read a speech by a politician - Senator William Knowland - that talked about the cover-up of John Birch's murder, as well as the cover-up of the idea of the US government destroying our friends in China to bring into power our enemies the Communist Chinese. It is due to this moving speech that will, in eight years from now, touch Robert Welch and inspire him to name his anti-Communist freedom organization in honor of Captain Birch - The John Birch Society.
July/Aug. 1951 Welch begins to write his first major political work, May God Forgive Us, which deals with his analysis of post World War II disasters. Some of these disasters include: the loss of Eastern Europe and of China to the Communist Bloc, the widespread influence of various leftist organizations in accomplishing these victories for communism, spot-lighting government agencies that had been subverted by communist agents, and also on individuals who used their positions of power and prestige to change the direction of American policy. Welch also talks about the indifference and complacency of Americans and how that is a huge problem. The answer according to Welch is simply education.
1952 The publication of May God Forgive Us. This book began simply as a rather extensive letter Welch planned on sending to a few friends. He sent three copies out and in no time he had requests for more copies. Before all is said and done, Welch ends up publishing this letter and distributing tens of thousands of copies all over the world. Welch also expresses intense shame for his country and deep distress that, "the land of the free and home of the brave" was being undermined and used to betray innocent people as well as our foundation or Western culture: "The real trouble is callousness throughout the whole mood and the collective conscience of the American people. How can we expect either a Roosevelt or Truman to have been disturbed by the barbarous Katyn Massacre, or to have reduced for that reason their pampering appeasement and generosity to it's perpetrators? The news of a similar mass murder, of eight thousand of our own sons and brothers, as prisoners of war behind the Koreans lines, caused only a temporary ripple of indignation across the international consciousness; and we go serenely on negotiating with, and making new concessions to, the cold-blooded murders." "As we sit in our warm homes, after a happy meal with our families, and turn on our television sets or radios, it is hard for us to think of a man just like ourselves always half-starved, always half-frozen, haggard and hopeless, remember the days when he too was free, as he is brutally driven to finish up the literal exhaustion of his body in labor for the benefit of the very tyrant who has enslaved him. It is harder still to remember that there are millions of such men; or that in the past six years six hundred million of our fellow human beings have been placed under the merciless heel of this monster and the bestial control of his henchman and police." "For the pusillanimous part that we played in all this spreading horror; for our indifference to the grief of others; for our apathy to the crimes we saw and our blindness to those we should have seen; for our gullibility in the acceptance of veneered treason and our easy forgetfulness even when the veneer rubbed off; for all our witting and unwitting help to the vicious savages of the Kremlin and to their fellow ordinate savages everywhere, may God - and our fellow men -some day forgive us!" In other words, Welch is crying out to the American people asking them to recognize what is happening and to start caring about it. He also discusses the sheer dominance and control that Communism has over a nation. He finishes by asking forgiveness from and for his fellow Americans for all the indifference and complacency. Here is where Welch displays his true love for his country.
Jan. 1, 1957 Welch changes his life's purpose from that of a business man to that of a "conspirator squasher". It is at this time that he devotes the majority of his time to the anti-Communist cause and ultimately his new freedom organization.
Dec.1, 1958 It is now that Welch established The John Birch Society. Welch was very impressed with who John Birch was. It was said that John Birch's last words were, "It doesn't matter what happens to me. But it is of utmost importance that my country learn now whether these people are friend or foe." It was these words that struck Welch that this guy was truly sincere about coming against Communism and restoring America and the world back to "the way it use to be." Not only this but to achieve a goal great as this there must also be great sacrifice. Welch saw Birch's whole life as a sacrifice. The selflessness that Birch displayed was commendable and deserved to have his name live on.
Feb. 1959 Welch and The John Birch Society release a story in Welch's American Opinion, which was already painfully obvious, that Fidel Castro was a Communist. Welch is quoted by saying, "If you have any doubt that Castro is a Communist, don't. If he is successful, time will clearly reveal that he is an agent of the Kremlin." Welch is quoted in the American Opinion saying, "the fact that Castro was, and all of his adult life had been, a vicious, lying, brutal, murdering Communist."
April 1959 There was a movement by the United Nations (UN) to have all major departments stores across the country remove all their conventional Christmas decorations and replace them with decorations with the UN insignia on them. This was shaping up to be the beginning of the one-world government. But due to great letters of opposition written by people from The John Birch Society (JBS) to the heads of department stores, this movement made by the UN die out within a year.
May 1959 Around the same time as the UN uproar, the JBS organized a protest, with Robert Welch as chairman, to come against the meeting of Eisenhower and Krushchev. To not allow this to occur JBS ran full-page ad's and put them in all the major newspaper in hopes that Eisenhower would get some bad press and wouldn't go to Moscow. It worked perfectly; Eisenhower called off his trip.
Oct. 1959 The JBS pulled together to rally Congress to stop supplying foreign aid, especially to countries that are Communist. Because of the massive resistance to the Communist Party, they (communists) tried to have the anti-Communists groups disassembled. Their efforts were thwarted though. This was a big victory for "good guys."
1960 Because the anti-Communist organizations were having such a huge impact on Communist interaction the Communist leaders (80+ nations) met in Moscow to wage "resolute struggles against anti-Communism."
Feb. 25, 1961 This enormous attack from the Communists focused on defamatory attacks against The JBS and sought to ruin their reputation and credibility. The Communists accused The JBS of being racists, anti-Semitists, fascists, Nazis, Ku Klux Klan, and more. Individuals were labeled paranoids, extremists, radicals, super-patriots, hate mongers, subversives, lunatics, and fanatics. This was anticipated by Welch, he knew that the Communists would resort to such behaviors quoted by a report saying, "(Communist Party) Members and front organizations must continually embarrass, discredit, and degrade our critics… When obstructionists become too irritating, label them as fascist or Nazi or anti-Semitic… Constantly associate those who oppose us with those names that already have a bad smell. The association will, after enough repetition, become "fact" in the public mind." Despite the fact that these smears about The JBS were terrible they did not back down, realizing that if they are being treated in such a manner must mean that they doing something right.
1963 It was at this point that The JBS felt a need to encourage the law enforcement. This effort not only encouraged the officers, but protected them as well. They formed Support Your Local Police (SYLP). This effort was started because the independence of America's local police was being threatened. There was talk of a dangerous trend of moving toward a nationalizing the police force. The JBS moved and were successful.
Dec. 1970 It was this year that Welch established Resolutions for The Society. Here is the JBS stand behind: "In the Birch Society we believe that both less government, and a greater sense of responsibility by all groups and individuals, will automatically help to produce a better world. We further believe, therefore, that our actions and reactions in all circumstances should be determined by an honest answer to this basic question: "If everybody else on earth should think and act as I do, would this become a better world?" "The John Birch Society has been founded in a time and place where the people are - or were - predominantly Christian. The Society was named in honor of a man who nobly exemplifies great many Christian values. It is natural, therefore, that we should lean most heavily on the moral customs and beliefs which are associated with Christianity, and with the Judaic commandments and traditions that preceded it." "We believe that Communist movement is determined to destroy every religion, primarily by infiltration within its ranks. But that Christianity is - or was - the Communists' most automatic and implacable enemy which, from their point of view, they must destroy more surely and more completely then even temporal governments that stand in their way". Welch also included standards or "commandments" for Society members to follow as closely as they can: 1. I shall always do unto others as I would have them due unto me. It expresses what is probably the most universal of all moral exhortations. And it is a fundamental principle of Christianity. 2. I shall always be truthful. If all men (and women too, or course), from diplomats to drunken bums, would simply resolve tomorrow always to be truthful, about everything - to the best of their knowledge and understanding - and would then abide by that resolution, I believe that fully half of all the troubles and grief of the human race would disappear within six months. 3. I will neither kill nor injure another human being, except in such circumstances that it is morally justifiable to do so. By almost universal custom, those circumstances include self-defense on behalf of myself, my family, or any lawful group with legally clean hands of which I am properly a member. By equally strong tradition, they include combat engagements, while I am in the armed services of my country during war with a foreign nation, and am carrying out the orders of my superiors. 4. I shall oppose, in every practicable way that I can, the widespread use or legalization of abortion, or of euthanasia. For abortion, in plain language, is simply murder - as any honest doctor will tell you who has witnessed the struggle of the living fetus to survive. And about euthanasia being murder there can be no argument. 5. I shall always support the concept and the practice of monogamy. This is one course of conduct on which the morality of many other religions and Christian morality sharply diverge. And I am aware that much can be said for those other points of view. Also, I agree that we should be very hesitant about rushing in to try to impose our ideas of the proper relationships between men and women on the people of other civilizations. 6. I shall not steal, and I shall oppose stealing by others, whether they be individuals, groups, or governments. The right to own private property is much more the cause, than it is the result, of civilization. The desire to be secure and protected in the ownership of property has been one of the great motivating forces in causing men to surrender some of their individual freedom to governments. 7. . Most especially I shall be tolerant of the religion of others, while faithful to the beliefs and principles I shall be tolerant of other people's views of my own, with reverence always and blasphemy never as visible manifestations of my spiritual outlook. The evangelically minded devotees of any religious faith must be allowed the right and the opportunity to convert others to their beliefs, provided this is done entirely by persuasion through civilized procedures. 8. I shall be a good patriot of my country. Patriotism, meaning the love of one's own country, is still an admirable trait, as it has been for thousands of years. In the US today patriot is usually an Americanist, as distinguished from a Communist; meaning that he believes the traditional American way of life is superior to the Communist system. 9. I shall honor and cherish all of my family relationships and responsibilities. The family is the structural unit of which any civilization is built. Unless these building blocks be a good quality, with firmness of form and cohesiveness of substance, the whole social structure will gradually disintegrate and crumble into ruins. 10. I shall be self reliant, to the full extent that is consistent with, my age, my physical condition, my sex, and my family relationships. I shall teach self-reliance to our children, and encourage it in other human beings. This means that I earnestly support in practice, and advocate in theory, The John Birch Society emphasis on less government and more individual responsibility. 11. I shall always participate in charity for the needy, to full extent that my resources and my other responsibilities will permit. One reason that poverty can not be abolished is that it is a relative condition. The very poorest people in America today are well off, even by the most materialistic measures, compared with the great masses of those who live in Soviet Russia; and are actually rich in their living standards when compared with a least a hundred million of the poorest people in India. 12. I shall always do what I can to prevent cruelty, whether to human beings or to any living thing; and to be guided by a genuine compassion for all mental or physical suffering by man or beast. This does not mean that I am necessarily a vegetarian in diet. The torture of any human being for any reason - as is now so widely practiced by the beasts who call themselves Communists - is morally far worse than even cold-blooded murder. 13. I shall always recognize my responsibilities for the physical, mental, and moral training of children entrusted to my care as parent, teacher, or guardian. These responsibilities, on the part of a parent, include the giving to each child of a happy home, with adequate food, shelter, clothing, education, and entertainment. As well as love and attention and inspiration and praise and discipline which clearly are a part of their total duties. 14. I believe, emphatically and earnestly, in justice as an ideal which every social organization should strive to provide, through it's laws and customs and attitudes, for all human beings. The only deviations from justice should be on the side of mercy, in situations where mercy is dictated by humane public conscience. It should be noted, as a plain and tragic historical fact, that the human race has not known any reasonable degree or dependable certainty of justice except in fortunate areas, under unusual circumstances, for comparatively short eras. But the expectation of justice is strong enough in most human beings, especially throughout their early years, to be one of the great driving forces towards the formation of a truly civilized national life. And we should do all we can to promote the fulfillment of this divinely inspired hope and ideal. 15. I shall never accept the satanic sophistry that the end justifies the means. Nor the parallel and equally fraudulent theory presented as "situation ethics". As to the end justifying the means, who is to decide what end is noble enough to justify means of what degree of foulness? Why, the person who wishes to commit the foul deeds, of course. And who is to decide what otherwise clearly immoral act is to be reassessed as morally all right under some particular circumstances, as permitted by "situation ethics"? Why, the person in those circumstances, of course, who wants to commit the immoral act. 16. I shall not yield to any of immorality which the enemies of God and man are now trying to get widely practiced and accepted, especially by our young people, as fashionable, or "modern." And I shall do my utmost to have all of these grossly immoral practices understood, resisted, and made the object of deserved contempt by young and old alike. The most flagrant among the bestialities to which I refer are: sexual perversion; sexual promiscuity outside of marital ties; the use of narcotic drugs which seriously damage either the mind or the body (or both) of the user; the flaunting of dirty hair and dirty clothes over dirty bodies; and the stupid and sometimes criminal manifestations of rebelliousness against an inherited civilization of which these rebels do not have the slightest understanding. 17. I shall always be industrious. The devil not only finds too much mischief for idle hands to do, but increasingly in our contemporary world he causes idle minds to turn inward on themselves. There is no time and little temptation for those who work hard on their jobs and their responsibilities to engage in vandalism, arson, or similar recreations of contemptible parasites. 18. I shall try had to preserve a sense of moderation and balance with regard to all my appetites, desires, and expectations. The intensity of my urge to learn, to see, to do, to understand, and to experience all that life has to offer, will always be kept under control, to the best of my ability, by all of the common sense, sound judgment, and weighing of conflicting considerations that I can muster for the occasions when they are needed. 19. I intend always to maintain a spirit sincere humility concerning my own position and deeds and influence, in connection with all organizations, undertakings, and activities of which I am apart. This will be simple because I have so much to be humble about. It will not be because of, nor indicated by, any weakness in the face of opposition, lack of confidence in tackling any task for which I am equipped, or undue restraint in battling for what I believe to be right. My underlying, continuous, and very real humility will be more deeply rooted in my realization of how little I can possibly know and do in all the vast areas of knowledge and of need which loom so overwhelmingly over and around all intelligent men of good will and good conscience, at this stage of our western civilization. 20. I shall always try to have, and to demonstrate, the courage that can properly be expected of me, in all situations where courage is required. This promise, to myself more than others, is made in full realization of a most important fact about courage, in the kind of struggle which engages us all today. Courage on a battlefield, with the constantly clear and present danger of being killed, is an admirable and much needed trait for any patriot.
1974 TRIM (Tax Reform IMmediately) was formed. This program by The Society was developed to keep close ties on each of the 435 House of Representatives. It's been referred to as the members "report cards". It looks at how they are spending dollars in excess as well as unconstitutional spending. Due to the distribution of these so called "report cards" on the Rep's there have been a lot of premature retirements, firings, and drop outs of elections.
1975 The Society's "Get US Out!" proposal was a direct opposition to the United Nations and all they stood for. The JBS distributed huge quantities of advertisements such as bumper stickers, billboards, and petitions, in conjunction with it's books, magazines, pamphlets, film showings, lectures, and broadcasts. All of this contributed to the unpopularity of the UN.
Between 1975 and 182 The JBS delivered "Get US Out!" petitions to Congress with an excess of eleven million signatures.
1984 It was here when The JBS formed an effort to stop two twin efforts at destroying the Constitution, called the Save the Constitution program. The two efforts wanting to relinquish the Constitution were: The drives for a constitutional convention (con con) and a Conference of the States (COS). Back in '83, 32 states (of the required 34) had actually been in favor of having Congress convene a constitutional convention. But The Society wasn't going to allow this to happen. They were able to stop this movement from Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana withdrew from the convention so that dropped them back to only 29 states which placed them out of reach of attaining their goal.
Jan. 6, 1985 Robert Welch leaves his legacy behind to be carried on - he passes away. However, the story does not end here the battle remains "unwon" and The JBS will continue to wage war against anything that stands in the way of the American way.
May 13, 1996 Even nowadays The JBS is receiving grief and being called fanatics. This smear campaign consisted of an article entitled "When Conspiracy Theory Replaces Thought", that bashed The Society's whole purpose of existence. The writer, Ira Straus, says, "Conspiracy is doing America real harm… It rationalizes thinking on every issue. It kills."
April 19, 1998 This was the most recent smearing of The JBS. It was on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. This article was entitled "Targeting the Government: The Road to Oklahoma City Was Paved by 40 Years of Fringe Movements". The John Birch Society was labeled "paranoia's" and accused of leading "violent anti-government movements". Near this same time an NBC special report was ran on "Conspiracy Theories" on television. They warned: "There is a group of people here in the United States who would love to see the United Nations out of New York and out of the country for that matter. These people believe that U.S. sovereignty is in some way threatened by the United Nations and that the UN or some nebulous New World order is out to take over America." Robert Welch has been labeled a criminal and his John Birch Society has been criticized in the past. Even though The Society was attacked most of their opponents are gone now and they are still here. The present President, John McManus, said, "The fact that the John Birch Society is as strong as it has ever been after 40 years is a testament to the strength of its vision and the continuing need for the services we provide. Our slogan, "Less government, more responsibility, and - with God's help - a better world, summarizes what we stand for. We are here to preserve the American system of government as created by our founding fathers and to assure the blessings of liberty to future generations of Americans."
Leadership Style
I would definitely say that his leadership style would be Democratic. Within The Society they fought such a variety of things. One person wouldn't have interest in all of that. I believe there was a "ladder" and that others opinions were welcomed. In an article I read there was mention of a President, which doesn't necessarily mean that they were democratic but I think that he would have a different title if it were otherwise. Also, this was a "Christian based" organization - there isn't going to be any Authoritarian or Laissez-faire or Abdocratic leader(s).
Political Philosophy
As I look back at everything that Robert Welch accomplished, I consider it amazing that neither he nor any of his "followers" ever resorted to violence. They were big supporters of America and Her justice system and used the system to impose their influence. They did everything by the book (despite the fact that they were extreme - not extreme as in crazy, psycho, Nazi's, but not quite all there either).
Finding or deciding on Welch's political philosophy is difficult. He doesn't fit perfectly into one category. My best suggestion would be to classify Robert Welch in combination of categories. The mix being between: Radicalism and Reactionism. Both of these groups are highly active in disliking the present situation. Reactionists desires to have the past back, and Radicalists are very confrontational but without the use of violence. I see both of these categories in Robert Welch. He was a man that was desperate to combat injustice towards America - to put it plainly the UN. He highly disliked the UN and saw them as a huge threat to American freedom. The UN always was plotting to form a one world government and Welch would do all in his power to oppose them. Reactionism applies because they have a strong desire for the past and it's plain as day to see when skimming through the Resolution that he instated in 1970 that he wanted an America, a world that went back to it's roots of solid Christian beliefs and a high standard of morality.
As far as his types of arguments goes I would, once again, have to use a combination: Reversive and Restorative. Reversive because he does feel that society has gone too far and needs to go back to a time when people, "…were self-reliant, good mannered, had moral uprightness, a respect for hard work, and valued integrity". He was also a Restorative because I'm sure he feels that now is a very bad time and that any time (in the past) is better than now. You get a sense of this when reading the 16th proposal. He seemed to think that sexual immorality runs rampant with kids and this is due to a decrease in our nation's society.
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