The master conspiracy of the John Birch Society: From Communism to the New World Order

During the height of the cold war and nuclear brinksmanship in the 1950s and 1960s, a number of self-styled crusaders and organizations took up the challenge begun by congressional committees and Joseph McCarthy to expose and defeat the communist menace threatening the United States and the free world.

For example, the Reverend Carl McIntire preached his anti-communist message throughout the United States, published innumerable tracts such as "Communism Is of the Devil," and through the 20th Century Reformation Hour, broadcast a thirty-minute radio message Monday through Friday. The Reverend Billy James Hargis formed the anti-communist Christian Crusade, toured the country with numerous rally's "for God and against communism," and broadcast his messages on hundreds of radio stations.

The largest, most thoroughly organized, and visible effort began when Robert Welch, a retired candy company executive, met in Indianapolis on December 9 and 10, 1958 with eleven handpicked businessmen. Welch delivered a two-day speech in which he identified the "Communist conspiracy" as "Our immediate and most urgent anxiety."1 He warned his business friends that: