John Birch Society
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| Abbreviation | JBS |
|---|---|
| Formation | December 9, 1958 |
| Founder | Robert W. Welch Jr., Fred C. Koch |
| Founded at | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Type | Political advocacy group |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | Appleton, Wisconsin, United States |
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Region served
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United States |
| Arthur Thompson | |
| Website | www |
The John Birch Society (JBS) is, in its own words, a conservative advocacy group supporting anti-communism and limited government. It has been described as a radical right and far-right organization.
Businessman and founder Robert W. Welch, Jr. (1899–1985) developed an organizational infrastructure in 1958 of chapters nationwide. Its main activity in the 1960s, said Rick Perlstein, "comprised monthly meetings to watch a film by Welch, followed by writing postcards or letters to government officials linking specific policies to the Communist menace". After an early rise in membership and influence, efforts by those such as conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. and National Review led the JBS to be identified as a fringe element of the conservative movement, mostly in fear of the radicalization of the American right.
Originally based in Belmont, Massachusetts, it is now headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, with local chapters throughout the United States. The organization owns American Opinion Publishing, which publishes The New American.
The organization supports limited government and opposes wealth redistribution and economic interventionism. It opposes collectivism, totalitarianism, and communism. It opposes socialism as well, which it asserts is infiltrating U.S. governmental administration. In a 1983 edition of Crossfire, Congressman Larry McDonald (D-Georgia), then its newly appointed president, characterized the society as belonging to the Old Right rather than the New Right.
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