John Birch Society Gains Traction Amid Extremism Debate
The John Birch Society reports growing membership and finances as critics at the Republican convention fail to denounce it. Public spokesman John H. Rousselot says meetings draw more attendees, while Welch and Goldwater’s views draw mixed reactions from politicians and Democrats. The Kennedy assassination briefly boosted Birch popularity, with ads nationwide framing his murder as Communist-oriented.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Birch Society
GOP
Society
John H. Rousselot
Birch Society
San Francisco
William Scranton
Pennsylvania
America
Republican Party
Abner W. Sibal
Connecticut
Ku Klux Klan
The
Platform Committee
Scranton
Goldwater
Welch
United States
Atlantic City
Communist Party
Birch
Rousselot
John F. Kennedy
Kennedy
John Birch Society gains reach amid opposition across states
The article profiles Robert Welch’s Birch Society, its Belmont and San Marino offices, and regional coordinators. It notes California as a strong but contested area with political defeats and upcoming elections affecting 11 members. Rousselot defends legality and denounces sensationalist coverage while highlighting growth in New Jersey, Alabama, Florida, and New York.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Welch
Eisenhower
Rousselot
The
Birch Society
American Opinion
Society
Belmont
San Marino
Calif
Los Angeles
Birch
Belmont Building
United States
California
Houston
Washington
Chicago
Understanding the Communist Movement and Its Debates
A lengthy critique explains the 1960s split among Communist powers. It discusses Marxism versus Leninism, Khrushchev versus Mao, and the concepts of peaceful coexistence, dogmatism, and national chauvinism. It closes with a 1962 Red Flag exercise on distinguishing Marxism Leninism from revisionism and sectarianism from internationalism.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
World Communist Movement
Moscow
Communist Party of the
Soviet Union
Khrushchev
Cuba
Red Flag
Birch Society Aims to Counter Press Misrepresentation
Rousselot outlines John Birch Society projects including two pamphlets, efforts to impeach Earl Warren, and a campaign to withdraw from the United Nations. He notes funding at about 2 million annually, with dues and sales of American Opinion forming major sources, and describes ad hoc committees and a mixed membership of Republicans and Democrats with varied religious affiliations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Rousselot
Francis X. Gannon
Earl Warren
Senate
John Birch Society
Insance
Welch
Also Mentioned on This Page
Don Rothberg and
Doris Klein
Associated Press
Robert Welch
Barry Goldwater
Sen. Goldwater
John F. Dulles
Dwight Eisenhower
Mass
Boston
John Foster Dulles
Dulles
Dulle
American
New Jersey
Alabama
Florida
New York
Harvey Schechter
Anti-Defamation League
Glendale
Los Alamitos
Schechter
Congress
East
New York Times
Washington Post
Boston Papers
Belmont, Mass
John Rousselot
Karl Marx
Freidrich Engels
Proletariat
Marx
Lenin
Russia
Giancarlo Pajetta
William Ryan
Mao Tze- Tung
Mao
Kommunist
Supreme Court
United Nations
Xerox Corp
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