John Birch Society

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.