December 9, 1958, Robert Welch and eleven other men gathered in a meeting hall. They came from Oregon, Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. He called upon these self proclaimed patriots to help him found a society of pro-American's known as the John Birch Society. "The ultimate reason that brought each man here,"" Welch said, "was a sense of patriotic duty, and deep concern for the future of his family and his country- (4). .
He felt America was at great risk to succumbing to outside forces. He strongly believed that a Communist Conspiracy would take over this great land and enslave the American populous into slavery of socialism. "Our immediate and most and most urgent anxiety of course, is the threat of the Communist Conspiracy. And well it should be, for both internationally, and within the United States, the Communists are much further advanced and more deeply entrenched than is realized by even most of the serious students of the danger among the Anti-Communists- (Welch, 5). .
Citing his faith and his patriotism in that two day conference in Indianapolis, Welch and the John Birch Society set forth on a crusade to enlighten America about the a very real Conspiracy of a Communist coup.
John Birch, the organization's namesake was a fundamentalist Baptist missionary. He knew at the age of eleven that he wanted to become a missionary. The New American reported in its December 13, 1993 issue Birch once wrote in a poem that he desired to "live slowly, to relax with my family before a glowing fireplace . to enjoy a good book . to reach the sunset of my life sound in body and mind, flanked by strong sons and grandsons."" .
However, after learning about aggressive acts against missionaries in China, Birch decided that's where he must do the Lord's work, despite certain death. Birch told his pastor "I know the big enemy is Communism, but the Lord has called me.