John Birch vs. the PTA

In this immersive biography, Edward H. Miller explores the life of Robert Welch, the founder of the John Birch Society. The book connects the accusatory conservatism of the midcentury John Birch Society to the inflammatory rhetoric of contemporary right-wing movements, including the Tea Party, the Trump administration, and QAnon. Miller meticulously researches Welch's early life, his career as a candy manufacturer, and his transformation into a prominent figure in American conservatism. The book highlights how Welch's conspiratorial worldview and the John Birch Society's grassroots networking significantly influenced the modern Republican Party and American politics[2][4][5].

In 'Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right,' Matthew Dallek explores the rise and influence of the John Birch Society, an organization founded in the late 1950s that believed in a vast communist conspiracy threatening America. Despite being dismissed as a paranoid fringe in the 1960s, the Birch Society's extremism significantly remade American conservatism. The book details how the society's members, mostly white professionals radicalized by calls for racial and gender equality, were courted by conservative leaders to win elections. Dallek's research shows how the Birch Society's conspiracism and hate laid the groundwork for later far-right movements, including the MAGA movement. The book offers a comprehensive and insightful look into the history of the John Birch Society and its enduring impact on American politics[2][3][5].