A Conspiratorial Life: Robert Welch, the John Birch Society, and the Revolution of American Conservatism

Robert Welch (1899-1985), the founder of the John Birch Society, is an influential architect of the current political moment, despite being an overlooked figure. Edward H. Miller's biography, "A Conspiratorial Life," explores Welch's life and how his ideas reshaped the American right, from his early success as a candy magnate to his establishment of the John Birch Society. The book shows how the Society's rabid libertarianism and grassroots networking became a profound influence on the modern Republican Party, connecting it to other conservative movements like the Tea Party and the Trump administration.

Format: Hardback
Length: 456 pages
Publication date: 03 May 2022
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Though you may not know his name, Robert Welch (1899-1985)—founder of the John Birch Society—is easily one of the most significant architects of our current political moment. In A Conspiratorial Life, the first biography of Welch, Edward H. Miller delves deep into the life of an overlooked figure whose ideas nevertheless reshaped the American right. A child prodigy who entered college at age 12, Welch became an unlikely candy magnate, founding the company that created Sugar Daddies, Junior Mints, and other famed confections. In 1958, he funneled his wealth into establishing the organization that would define his legacy and change the face of American politics: the John Birch Society. Though the groups paranoiac right-wing nativism was dismissed by conservative thinkers like William F. Buckley, its ideas gradually moved from the far-right fringe into the mainstream. By exploring the development of Welchs political worldview, A Conspiratorial Life shows how the John Birch Societys rabid libertarianism—and its highly effective grassroots networking—became a profound, yet often ignored or derided influence on the modern Republican Party. Miller convincingly connects the accusatory conservatism of the midcentury John Birch Society to the inflammatory rhetoric of the Tea Party, the Trump administration, Q, and more. As this book makes clear, whether or not you know his name or what he accomplished, its hard to deny that were living in Robert Welchs America.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226448862