This weeks item is a pamphlet written by Lt. Col. Gordon Mohr called Brain-Washing: A Synthnesis of a Russian Textbook on Psychopolitics from 1982. The “textbook spells out methods which secret communists use to ‘alter the loyalties’ of American citizens and then use those citizens to, especially those in government positions, to take control of the nation.”[1] Lt. Col. Mohr was a former John Birtch Society member who later went on to found the “Crusade for Christ and Country” and the “Christian Patriots Defense League.”[2] Mohr participated in WWII and the Korean War in which he was held as a prisoner of war.[3]  Mohr was a proponent of Christian Identity, “which teaches that many white Europeans are the literal descendants of the Israelites.”[4] This pamphlet was published by the Lord’s Covenant Church out of Phoenix, Arizona. This was a Christian Identity Church run by Sheldon Emry.

Brain-Washing (1982)

To get a better understand of Lt. Col. Mohr’s beliefs listen to this speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb5FMKHdajk

This week’s item is a flyer printed for a lecture that Gordon Hall gave at East Tennessee State University on May 6, 1969. Hall was able to build his collection and conduct his research mostly from funds raised on the lecture circuit. This flyer also contains comments about Hall from Robert Welch, Gus Hall, George Lincoln Rockwell and Malcolm X all of whom had different ideological world views but were similar in their dislike of Gordon Hall.

East Tennessee State Lecture (May 6, 1969)

The Socialist Labor Party, founded in 1876, in New York City is the oldest socialist party in the United States. The SPL was arguably at its most powerful in late 1870s when an SPL state senator was elected in Illinois as well as four Chicago city councilmen.[1] Through the late 19^th and early 20^th Century the SPL enjoyed some success at the helm of Daniel De Leon even receiving 80,000 votes in the 1896 presidential election with Charles Matchett running.  Ideological the SPL falls under “De Leonism” which is a form of Marxism that predates Leninism and posits that workers must simultaneously form socialist industrial unions in the workplaces, and a socialist political party in order to enact change.[2]

The SPL also saw a slight bump in interest throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s under the leadership of Eric Hass but this did not have a lasting impact.[3] Although the organization was not a powerful political party throughout the 20^th Century it continued to publish its newspaper Weekly People and only closed its national office on September 1, 2008. There are ~350 items from the SPL in the Hall Hoag Collection Part II.

Weekly People (March 4, 1972)

Weekly People Image (March 4, 1972)

The Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, (a.k.a Bay Area Revolutionary Union and Revolutionary Union) was founded in 1969 by former members of the Students for a Democratic Society. Bob Avakian was the organizations leader from its founding into the present time. The organization was not known as the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA until 1975. The group, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, takes its ideological cues from Avakian and has been noted for its cult-like acceptance of his views.[1] Ideologically the group is Maoist to the extent that members of the RCP, USA made official visits to China in the 1970s.[2] Among other things the RCP, USA is noted for its unwavering support of Mao, its eventual rejection electoral politics, and its belief that the only way for people to liberate themselves from U.S. Imperialism is through Communist revolution.[3] The group has been estimated to have branches in 9-18 states with a total of 400-2000 members.

The item included here is a poster printed by the RPC, USA for International Women’s Day in 1985.

Revolutionary Communist Party (March 8, 1985)