John+Birch+Society-+p7

__**John Birch Society**__
Jeff

The John Birch society is named after Captain John Birch who was a pilot in World War II. Before being a pilot he was a Baptist missionary. He was killed by Chinese communists in 1942. The society is all about clearing the world of communism. For example, they sent mail to the United States government to attack Cuba because of Fidel Castro. The society also said that Hawaii was under communism before they applied for state hood and were eventually granted. The societies goals include the elimination of the federal welfare and social security programs, income tax, and federal regulatory agencies. In 1961 the society got national attention because it revealed that its founder, Robert H. W. Welch Jr., had filed lawsuits against Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry Truman, and F. D. Roosevelt saying that they were spies for communists.

Once again, this society wanted to rid the globe of all communists. They thought communism was everywhere including within our borders, as such in Hawaii. They wanted the United States to attack Cuba as well as Mexico. The U. S. government denied all of the letters that came to them from the society ever. The society called Ronald Regan soft and George H. Bush an "internationalist extraordinaire".

Another goal of the society is that they wanted there to be one worldwide government. They wanted this because that way no one person could take over. That would mean that they would be successful of getting rid of communism. Also, there would not be any more wars, which is also something they were aiming at. The only reason they wanted war was to get the entire communism away from the globe.

One thing I found interesting about this subject is that the founder filed lawsuits against such important people. I believe he did this because he wanted to clear the nation from any single person that may have been communist. The lawsuits did not get very far because, in part, the people were so important. The bigger reason is because he didn't have clear-cut evidence. All of his evidence had ifs, buts, or loopholes. Overall, the lawsuits didn't turn into anything.

Another reason he might have filed lawsuits against these people is because he wanted people to know about the society. I think this is because the society had been going for a while before he announced the lawsuits and no one really knew about it. The members were the only people that knew about it. Also, to get the society more attention the group made up a magazine that described their views. The magazine was called "American Opinion".

This topic is important because everyone should know that there are groups that were trying to get rid of communism. This group is one of the more public societies. Another reason this topic is important is because we should know about anyone under suspicion inside of the country of being a communist. This group tried to let everyone know by using their magazine. Also, the society is important because they filed suits against our government that were covered up. This is important because we have the right to know what persons in our government have been accused of. Kaufman, Burton I. "John Birch Society." World Book Online Reference Center. 2007. [Web. February 6, 2007.] <[|http://www.worldbookonline.com.ezproxy.cooklib.org]: 2048/wb/Article? Id=ar710567>.

"John Birch Society." Encyclopedia Americana. 2007. Grolier Online. 7 Feb. 2007 <[|http://ea.grolier.com.ezproxy.cooklib.org]: 2048/cgi-bin/article? Assetid=0224000-00>.

Welch, Robert Henry, and The blue book of the John Birch society, Appleton, WI: Western Islands, 1959