Missionaries of Capitalism: George Benson, The NEP, and Anticommunism

One of the key events in American political history was the rise of the conservative

movement culminating with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. A key component in the rise

of the movement was the growth of the evangelical movement in American Christianity. A key

figure in both of these movements was George Benson of Harding College (later University).

Benson was both at the forefront of the development of both the evangelical movement in

religion and in politics. Benson came to Harding in 1936 when it was still a backwards, young

religious college run by the Churches of Christ. Benson turned Harding into a more modern

university while infusing it with his own far right wing views. Benson’s key creation at Harding

was to be the National Education Program in 1948, which Benson would remain at the head of

until his death. The National Education Program served a variety of functions. It was ostensibly

created to provide anticommunist information to the nation. But within these films lay an

undercurrent of evangelical Christianity that cannot be ignored. Benson would also use the NEP

as a way to increase Harding’s and his own profile within the nation and the evangelical

community. Today Benson has largely been forgotten in favor of more visible figures like Billy

Graham and Bill Bright. But Benson’s influence on the evangelical and conservative movements

runs deep; Reagan himself credited Benson as the key to his successful political career.

Any discussion of George Benson and the NEP has to start with a discussion of the

Churches of Christ, Benson’s spiritual home. The Churches of Christ are a Congregationalist

evangelical group of churches that trace their official recognition back to the early 20th century.

They are an offshoot of the Restoration Movement which has its roots in the Second Great

Awakening and the ministries of Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone.1 The so called

1

? Richard T. Hughes, The Churches of Christ (Westport: Praeger Paperback, 2001), 36.

Restoration Movement split from the Presbyterian Church over issues of church governance and

a desire to do away with creeds.2 They wanted to restore what they felt the original New

Testament church had stood for and felt like they and they alone were upholding Christ’s

teachings. Within the Restoration Movement two distinct groups developed and by 1906 they

had completely separated. The reason for this separation was over the issue of musical

instruments in worship services.3 The larger part of the Movement, what would eventually

become the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) felt that since musical instruments in worship

services was not expressly forbidden by the New Testament, it was fine to go ahead and use

them. However the group that would become the Churches of Christ argued that since the use of

musical instruments was not explicitly condoned by the New Testament their use was forbidden.4

This is a recurring theme in the development of the Churches of Christ, they claim to reject all

forms of theology as manmade interpretations of the Bible, and instead they claim to focus on

doctrine which they say is what the Bible actually says.5 They also quickly became active in

2

? Hughes, 65

3

? Hughes, 78

4

? ibid

5

? Hughes, 76

missionary work and started several colleges to promote their view of the Bible. One of the very

earliest of these colleges was Harding.

Harding College was founded in 1924 in Morrilton, Arkansas to primarily serve as a

school to teach young Church of Christ men about the Bible. It would move to Searcy, Arkansas

in 1934 to take over the facilities of a defunct women’s college.6 Harding’s early years were

marked by deep economic difficulties and trouble maintaining academic standards. To help save

the institution from failure the Board of Trustees recalled one of the College’s first graduates,

George S. Benson to serve as President of the College.

Benson was born in western Oklahoma on September 26, 1898.7 He graduated from

Harding in 1925 after starting his collegiate career at another Church of Christ sponsored school,

Harper College in Oklahoma.8 Benson then left the country to serve as a missionary to China.

Benson stayed in China for 11 years until he was forced to leave by the Communists. This

incident served to only increase Benson’s hatred of all things communist and socialist.9 Benson

6

? "About Harding - History," Harding University - Faith, Learning, Living,

http://www.harding.edu/about/history.html (accessed March 10, 2009).

7

? L. Edward Hicks, "Sometimes in the wrong, but never in doubt" George S. Benson and the education of

the new religious right (Knoxville: University of Tennessee P, 1994), 1.

8

?Hicks, 4

9

also ran into prominent businessman and Christian activist George Pepperdine. Pepperdine

funded several of Benson’s missionary efforts and the two men struck up a friendship.10 This

friendship would prove key to Benson’s plans upon his return to the United States. Benson

returned from China in 1930 and spent most of that year at the University of Chicago where he

earned a Master’s in Asian studies.11 It was at the University of Chicago that Benson came into

contact with many highly visible conservative philosophers, economists, and historians. Benson

returned to China after gaining this degree but found much of his former area of missionary work

under the control of Communist forces. He was driven out of the country and never returned.

This was to have a lifelong effect on Benson. Benson was deeply interested in creating a greater

sense of missionary zeal amongst his Church of Christ brethren, in pursuit of this he spent

several summers teaching missionary classes at Harding In the process Benson renewed his

relationship with the school and its president J.N. Armstrong.12 Benson’s main priority during the

mid-1930s was his fledgling Canton Bible College but he had a hard time getting it off the

ground. In 1936, a long running dispute over doctrinal differences led to Armstrong’s resignation

and Benson was appointed in his place.13 When Benson took over he faced a massive debt with

? Hicks, 6

10

? Hicks, 9

11

? Hicks, 13

12

? Hicks, 14

13

no foreseeable way out. The US was still suffering from the Depression and fundraising among

the local churches proved difficult. Benson realized that the answer lay in another area he felt

strongly about-promoting his version of “Americanism”. Americanism was a Benson term for his

amalgamation of free market capitalism, virulent anti-communism, and evangelical

Christianity.14 Benson realized that by turning Harding into the mouthpiece of this

“Americanism” he could attract the donations of both Christian industrialists like Pepperdine and

industrialists interested in spreading laissez faire capitalism to the next generation. This led to

Benson’s creation of the National Education Program in 1948.15

The National Education Program or NEP would quickly grow into a key voice in the

anticommunist movement. Benson used his friendships with wealthy industrialists to get large

donations for the NEP and Harding itself. In 1941 he managed to wrangle an appearance before

the House Ways and Means Committee which was then dealing with reauthorization of the

National Youth Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps.16 Benson used this appearance

to lambast the economic policies of the Roosevelt Administration gaining the attention of

? Hicks, 16

14

? "Harding University - American Studies Institute - Welcome," Harding University - Faith, Learning, Living, http://www.harding.edu/ASI/index.html (accessed March 10, 2009).

15

? M. J. Heale, American Anti-Communism Combating the Enemy Within, 1830-1970 (The American

Moment) (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins UP, 1990), 171.

16

? Hicks, 63

powerful men like Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia (who became a key Benson ally on the Hill)

and Alfred Sloan. Thanks to these appearances, Benson went on essentially a 7 year long

speaking/fundraising tour of the United States. Benson was able to raise large amounts of money

both for Harding and his nascent NEP.17 By 1962 Harding had an endowment worth over $6

million dollars with virtually the entire amount in the form of donations from major American

industrialists. With this money Benson expanded Harding’s academic offerings beyond Biblical

education by hiring a slew of new faculty and expanding and improving Harding’s campus. This

was all done with an eye towards building Harding’s reputation as a good school academically.

Benson also began staffing the NEP with people like John Sutherland, an executive at Walt

Disney Studios, who would oversee the running of the cartoon program at the NEP.18

Many of the earliest NEP productions were cartoons produced by John Sutherland. Why

Play Leap Frog? is a particularly interesting example of these early propaganda pieces. Every

cartoon began with a placard indicating that the cartoon was produced by the extension

department of Harding College (the NEP was a part of the extension department during its early

years) and giving a brief explanation of why the cartoon was produced. The reason-according to

the placard-was “to create a deeper understanding of what has made America the finest place in

the world to live.”19 This understanding was, naturally, a very conservative one. In Why Play

17

? Hicks, 74

18

? Hicks, 64

19

? Why Play Leap Frog? DVD, dir. John Sutherland, prod. Harding College (United States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004).

Leap Frog?, the Dilly Doll Factory and its worker Joe serve to explain the connection between

wages and prices. In the NEP’s version of economics though, virtually all increase in price

comes from the apparently overwhelming cost of labor. According to the film, 80% of a new

car’s cost comes from labor.20 This results in Joe being unable to afford many things. Joe realizes

at the end of the film that instead of hoping for an increase in his wages, he needs to increase his

productivity and that that will result in a “real raise” as prices fall.21 The film is obviously written

to appease Benson’s industrialist friends, as few outside of that group would agree with either its

economics or presentation. The film is a not so subtle poke at labor unions, then at the peak of

their power in American politics. Why Play Leap Frog? uses a method still used by opponents of

unionization today, claiming, through occasionally fuzzy mathematics, that labor costs have

outstripped productivity and that labor is essentially earning more than its fair share. In Meet

King Joe we meet Joe again. He’s moved on from the doll factory, and this time wears a jaunty

crown to indicate his status as “King of the Worker’s of the World”.22 Joe learns about how the

American worker is the luckiest in the world because of the great interactions between American

management and labor. The cartoon argues that most capital in America comes not from wealthy

20

? Ibid

21

? ibid

22

? Meet King Joe, DVD, dir. John Sutherland, prod. Harding College (United States of America: www.yumheart.com, 2004).

people but from “the millions of Americans who invest in new factories”.23 Both of these

cartoons are clearly aimed at blue collar workers. They point out how lucky American workers

are and are also willing to criticize the wealthy. The religious overtones are almost entirely

absent as the cartoons are focused on advancing some very pro-business economics. They reflect

that Benson was trying to advance a whole lot of agendas at once- he was working to appease

both religious and fiscal conservatives and these cartoons are clearly aimed at the latter. In many

ways this reflects the split in the modern Republican Party between social and fiscal

conservatives. But it could also be argued that the emphasis these cartoons put on labor being

satisfied with what management gives could be a reflection of an evangelical emphasis on

authority. Virtually every evangelical movement considers the Bible to be completely accurate

and the sole source of authority for any church or institution24Therefore people have to submit

themselves wholly over to the Bible and to God’s law. So perhaps this belief in submission to

higher authority is subtly reflected in these two cartoons.

Make Mine Freedom deals more directly with a comparison between communism and

capitalism. It is an analysis of the differences between “free enterprise” and communism. The

device for this explanation is a snake oil salesman selling bottles of –ism to stereotypes of

management, labor, politicians, and farmers. The stereotypes are quickly taken in by the

salesman and prepare to sign away the country to –Ism, Inc. But then “John Q. Public” comes to

23

? ibid

24

? George M. Marsden, Understanding fundamentalism and evangelicalism (Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 65.

provide a glimpse into what makes “free enterprise” so great and the problems found with –

Ism.25 The film uses a very thinly veiled Henry Ford metaphor, to explain who someone with an

idea can become a rich and powerful person in a “free enterprise” society.26It then moves on to a

horrifying vision of society under –Ism. Labor unions become subject to state control with

workers identified solely by number, corporations are seized with no possibility of appeal,

farmers become “state farm slaves”, and politicians looping records of the state’s greatness. It

ends with everyone agreeing that the “American Way” is best. Make Mine Freedom is one of the

more interesting cartoons the NEP produced. It shows an integrated schoolroom, argues that

freedom to worship as people choose is a key right, and argues that management can be seduced

by communism as easily as labor.27 None of these arguments were typical for any anticommunist

propaganda, let alone that of the NEP. But that opening lulls us into a false sense that the

message is being presented fairly as the cartoon’s closing line goes back to standard NEP fare.

“When anybody preaches disunity, tries to pit one of us against another, through class warfare,

race hatred or religious intolerance we know that that person is trying to rob us of our freedom

and our very lives.”28 This closing line of Make Mine Freedom hits at the core of what the NEP

25

? Make Mine Freedom, DVD, dir. John Sutherland, prod. Harding College (United States of America: www.yumheart.com, 2004).

26

? Ibid

27

? ibid

28

? ibid

was trying to do with this series of cartoons. Harding’s very existence had been threatened by the

millennial movement within the Churches of Christ and evangelical movements had always

emphasized the importance of ideological purity.29 From this philosophical and historical

background, the logic of this statement becomes startlingly and frighteningly clear. Those who

opposed the efforts of the anti-communists had to be silenced for the good of the country.

Anyone who espoused opposite views had to be silenced for the good of the church. For Benson

and the NEP communism was not just a political or economic problem, it was a sin against God

himself and as with any other sin there could be no compromise with anyone. And in Benson’s

eyes those who had been touched by communism extended to those he felt were not hard enough

on it, men like Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and Senator J. William

Fulbright. The only way Benson saw to save the United States from the communist menace was

to convert everyone over to this way of thinking. He was helped by the sheer popularity of the

NEP cartoons. Sutherland still had many friends in Hollywood and he secured a distribution

contract with MGM in 1948. NEP cartoons went to over 5,000 MGM theaters where they

quickly became a major hit.30 According to MGM, they were the most popular of all of their

anticommunist cartoons, likely due to their humor and the extraordinarily high quality of their

information. The NEP was bursting onto the scene at just the right time, China had just gone

Communist and an obscure Wisconsin Senator named Joseph McCarthy was starting his own

29

? Marsden, 110

30

? Hicks, 63

crusade against the Reds. But first Benson had to try and reconcile his two great obsessions

fighting the communists and improving Harding.

The success of the NEP and its films was having serious repercussions for Benson’s

attempts to increase Harding’s academic respectability. Benson was obsessed with gaining

accreditation from the North Central Association for Harding as a mark of its academic

respectability. But Benson’s and the NEP’s growing reputation as anticommunist ideologues

caused the NCA to put off accreditation several times.31 The NCA was concerned about reported

ties between the NEP and the John Birch Society. In 1948 the NCA directly rejected Harding’s

application and continued to reject it every year thereafter. The reason was obviously discomfort

over Harding’s name being prominently displayed over films of questionable academic value.

Benson finally agreed to separate the two institutions in 1954. The NEP would remain

headquartered in Searcy and Benson would remain as President.32 To make up for the

disappearance of the NEP from Harding’s actual curriculum, Benson created a School of

American Studies. It combined a study of capitalism, Christianity, and history into an actual

degree program.33 Benson’s stated goal was for each student to “gain a solid grounding in

31

? Hicks, 84

32

? Phillips, Cabell. "Wide Anti-Red Drive Directed From Small Town in Arkansas." New York Times, May 18, 1961.

33

? New York Times. "American Studies." October 12, 1952, Review of Editorials sec.

American and Christian principles.”34 The School’s curriculum was controversial enough to merit

an article in the New York Times. Benson had wanted to bring a missionary school to Harding

and by 1954 he had created a school not to train missionaries solely for God, but for God and

Capitalism. The School of Americanism still exists at Harding under the name of School of

American Studies where it still hews to Benson’s original curriculum goals and plans.35

The NEP continued to produce material after the separation, but there was a general shift

away from the cartoons towards a more live-action approach. Many of these new films featured

Harding graduate and history professor Clifton Ganus. One of these Ganus films is The

Responsibilities of American Citizenship. Its set up is fairly standard an opening shot of what is

presumably the Harding campus, followed by a group of students filing in for a “National

Education Program workshop”.36 Ganus stands at the front of the classroom and lectures. In The

Responsibilities of American Citizenship Ganus has also come prepared with visual aids. The

first of these is also one of the most telling, a tower of blocks representing the United States.

Things like basic freedoms and the Constitution all rest on “The Fundamental Belief in God”.37

34

? Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock). "George S. Benson-His Fight: Free Enterprise." December 14, 1952.

35

? "Harding University - American Studies Institute - Welcome," Harding University - Faith, Learning, Living, section goes here, http://www.harding.edu/ASI/index.html (accessed March 10, 2009).

36

? The Responsibilities of American Citizenship, DVD, prod. National Education Program, perf. Clifton L. Ganus (United States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004).

37

? ibid

This is a theme that would be repeated not just in this film but in virtually every NEP film that

Ganus starred in. Ganus also makes the fairly fantastic claim that “the shadow of socialism has

spread to most nations of the Earth and now encroaches on our own”. This is then seconded by

Ganus’ contention that “socialism is widespread in Europe”.38 This is repeated in many other

Ganus films like America’s Distribution of Wealth where a man with a horrific British accent

continually asks a man about all the wonders available in capitalist America.39 This seems to

reflect Benson’s fervent belief that socialism and communism were two sides of the same coin,

and that socialism would inevitably lead to communism. For the NEP, socialism and communism

were indistinguishable. So the mild democratic socialism of Great Britain, which was under the

rule of that ardent socialist Winston Churchill, became as hard core as anything that was

practiced in the Soviet Union. Unlike the cartoons, which were typically fairly upbeat and

focused on the “American system” Ganus’ films seem far more focused on fear-mongering, as he

warns in The Responsibilities of American Citizenship about “socialist and communist fifth

columnists who seek to undermine our system.”40 Ganus then launches into a list of obligations

of American citizenship dealing with things like “representative government”, “capitalism”, and

38

? ibid

39

? America's Distribution of Wealth, DVD, prod. National Education Program, perf. Clifton L. Ganus (United States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004).

40

? The Responsibilities of American Citizenship

“owning private property”.41 He then begins to discuss the tactics of communism and

communism is immediately framed as “communism, that godless philosophy”.42 It is

immediately clear that the key thing we are supposed to take away is that communists are just a

bunch of atheists and that being a good American depends on believing in God. Of course, Ganus

tells us this directly a few moments later, the camera shifts position so that it is directly in front

of his board. The board displays a sign saying “Strive for Spiritual Growth” while Ganus tells us

to “apply the principles of God’s truth to politics”.43 The Responsibilities of American Citizenship

takes a reasonable subject for discussion, what does being a citizen really mean, and quickly

turns it into a lesson about how the only good citizen is a Christian citizen. This was reflected in

the rise of church attendance over the course of the 1950s. American Economic Freedoms is

another great example of a mid-1950s NEP production. Ganus is again before a group of excited

young college students providing information of the greatness of the “American System”. This

film features Ganus running through the various economic freedoms that Americans take for

granted but that those in “socialist” countries do not enjoy.44 The first is what Ganus describes as

41

? The Responsibilities of American Citizenship

42

? Ibid

43

? ibid

44

? "YouTube - American Economic Freedoms (1955)," YouTube - Broadcast Yourself., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9F5ITAj4eY (accessed March 19, 2009).

the “freedom to work”.45 He defines this as the ability of Americans to choose any job they want

but it is vaguely reminiscent of the right to work language employed by opponents of

unionization. Ganus returns to his rather odd characterization of Great Britain as a country only

slightly better run than the Soviet Union by claiming that “as soon as British Socialists took

power they passed a law giving them power over workers”.46 This is one of the more inaccurate

statements in an NEP production as the Labour Party was not a Marxist party by any stretch of

the imagination by the late 1940s and Attlee’s government repealed the Trade Disputes Act of

1927 which had given the government more power over unionized workers.47 Ganus then

discusses farm labor. He says that American farm worker produces 10 times more than the

collective farm worker which he chalks up to American farm workers being happier in their jobs.

He makes no mention of better American farm equipment or increased use of chemical fertilizers

on American farm products. Ganus’ next freedom is the “freedom to dream” without which the

“collective national brain energy could not be harnessed towards progress” which Ganus says

allows Americans to “try out any idea contraption no matter how crazy it may seem to others”.48

Feeding the freedom to dream is the “freedom to compete” which allows only the best producers

45

? ibid

46

? Youtube

47

? ibid

48

? ibid

to succeed. Then Ganus hits on the old American Dream with the “freedom to advance”; Ganus

uses this to stroke the donors’ egos a bit with his claim that “virtually all industrialists have risen

up from nothing” and that only the most productive managers are allowed to move up.49 The final

freedom is the “freedom to invest”. Ganus claims that over 18 million Americans own stock and

that European and Asian workers have substandard equipment with Asian workers apparently not

having access to anything more advanced than a piece of bamboo to transport kerosene.50 Ganus

used these freedoms to promote a somewhat inaccurate picture of American society. He offers no

proof of where his information was coming from or why it was a trustworthy source. But we are

clearly meant to simply take his words at face value. Ganus is always presented as the

stereotypical young college professor. He makes bad jokes and gets reluctant responses from the

students and he always speaks in a calm cool voice that does not invite argument. This pattern

was repeated in hundreds of films throughout the 1950s and 1960s as the NEP and its power

grew.

The mid-1950s saw Benson’s power and influence expand greatly and this continued into

the early 1960s. The NEP began to produce films focused solely on Benson himself. Perhaps the

most famous of these is The War We Are In: Communism versus Capitalism. It begins with an

introduction by Ganus extolling Benson as an “educational crusader” speaking to a group of

“patriotic Americans” about the threat of communism.51 Benson begins by immediately invoking

49

? ibid

50

? ibid

51

divine protection for America and the freedoms Americans have “under God.”52 Benson then

argues that communism and capitalism are locked in a continuous war with the communists

using “fifth columnists” to achieve their ends. Benson’s obsession with “fifth columnists” likely

stems from his missionary experiences in China. During the early 1930s Benson witnessed many

powerful people who he felt had disguised their communist leanings until the greater force of

communists was ready to take over.53 Benson then launches into a very long analysis of what he

calls “The revised Communist Manifesto”.54 Benson almost seems to be arguing in favor of

escalating the Cold War. Ganus had referred to Communist fears of greater American military

power and Benson claims in his speech that “America could rain 20 times the destructive power

over Russia that Russia could rain over America” and “Khrushchev does not want a hot war now,

he knows he cannot win it”.55 There can be no real question that an all out military conflict would

have helped Benson’s primary financial backers, by this point Boeing, Lockheed, and other key

? The War We Are In: Communism vs. Capitalism, DVD, prod. National Education Program, perf. George S. Benson and Clifton L. Ganus (United States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004).

52

? ibid

53

? Hicks, 8

54

? The War We Are In

55

? ibid

defense contractors were all big donors to the NEP’s cause.56 But Benson was also likely

ideologically predisposed towards wanting to force a major conflict. A common theme in

evangelical churches is a complete unwillingness to negotiate with things they view as sinful and

“sin must always be wiped out”.57 So since Khrushchev wanted a Cold War, Benson went on to

explain how the communists intended to extend the Cold War. He claimed that when communists

were talking about peace they did not mean anything like what an American would mean by

peace. He also eviscerates what he calls “Peace Fronts”, groups typically organized by churches

opposing all out atomic war.58 There is also an intense feeling of personal persecution as Benson

says that Khrushchev himself wished the destruction of anticommunist groups and argued that

the media had purposefully attempted to smear him and the NEP because they were effective in

fighting communism. The sense of paranoia and persecution apparent in Benson’s remarks are a

common theme in recent right wing political thought. It was always thought to have begun with

the famously paranoid Richard Nixon, but Benson here is giving Nixon a lesson in paranoia long

before Nixon became President. For Benson, any criticism of himself or the NEP was obviously

due to the person being part of the communist threat. He closes with the most sensitive political

topic of the time: race relations. Benson argues that Gus Hall, President of the CPUSA, wanted

56

? Cabell Phillips, "Wide Anti-Red Drive Directed From Small Town in Arkansas," New York Times, May 18,

1961.

57

? The War We Are In

58

? ibid

to make the CPUSA “the party of the coloreds”.59 In this speech Benson uses many cues from

traditional evangelism and the future conservative political movement. He creatively uses quotes

and facts out of context to argue his points. He creates an atmosphere of intense persecution as

he argues that Khrushchev’s main goal is the destruction of the anticommunist organizations.

Much of Benson’s rhetoric in this particular speech would be used by 1964 Republican

Presidential Candidate Barry Goldwater and eventually Goldwater’s ideological heir Ronald

Reagan. Reagan was also close to Benson and the NEP. In 1962 Reagan narrated one of the

NEP’s few feature length documentaries The Truth about Communism. The film is notable not

just for Reagan’s involvement but it featured an in introduction by the last democratically elected

leader of Russia, Alexander Kerensky.60 It is a piece that does a very good job of presenting half

truths as truth and whipping up an attitude of fear that a communist infiltration of the United

States was imminent. The NEP was at the height of its power and respectability. It was favorably

profiled in the New York Times early in 1961. Hundreds of high schools around the country used

its educational pamphlets and curriculum on a day to day basis. Its anti-Communist films were

consistently shown to people around the country including members of the military and Benson’s

seminars and Freedom Forums were attracting thousands more every day. George Benson had

placed himself at the apex of the conservative movement and it was quickly clear that he

intended to do something with that power.

59

? ibid

60

? "The Truth About Communism," Google Video, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-

6582689092480970845 (accessed March 19, 2009).

Benson had always stayed largely out of electoral politics but by the early 1960s there

would be no better time to start. And Benson decided to go big. Benson had long felt that

Senator J. William Fulbright was nowhere near conservative enough on a variety of social issues

and most importantly he felt that Fulbright was too soft on Communism.61 But Fulbright was not

just another Senator; he was chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and one of the

most powerful men in the country, let alone Arkansas. Benson decided against a run himself due

to his desire to remain at Harding and the NEP, but at one of his “Freedom Forums” in April,

1962 he announced that Winston Chandler an RV salesman from Pulaski County would run

against Fulbright in the Democratic Primary that year.62 Wendell’s candidacy fizzled out fairly

quickly after that. The Fulbright episode is perhaps indicative of what was happening to Benson

in the 1960s. Benson had become completely disenchanted with the Democratic Party and

supported Barry Goldwater in 1964.63 But the Benson of 1964 was not the Benson of ten years

earlier. The early 1960s had seen the end of Benson’s particular brand of anti-communism, but he

had not apparently recognized that fact. A series of revelations in 1962 had been the final nail in

the national power of Benson and the NEP. The first of these had to do with the NEP film

Communism on the Map.64Communism on the Map was really just another standard NEP film,

61

? Hicks, 154

62

?

63

? Hicks, 70

64

but it managed to come to the attention of 6 time Socialist Presidential candidate (and former

Presbyterian Minister) Norman Thomas.65 Thomas was outraged over the film’s many

inaccuracies and overall paranoid tone. He was even more incensed when he discovered that the

film was being shown to members of the military and college students.66 Thomas was outraged

that the military was being exposed to these films with the approval of official military sources.

Thomas also pointed out that the NEP was essentially spreading information approved by groups

like the John Birch Society. Thomas called on Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to deal

with the problem as many military leaders had begun attending NEP conferences in Searcy. The

Department of Defense therefore banned the showing of NEP films on official DOD time.67 The

issue attracted the attention of the New York Times who promptly sought out Benson for a

response. Benson defended the film and its producer Glenn Green as only trying to promote

“godliness and patriotism”.68 Unfortunately for Benson it was quickly discovered that Green was

a member of the John Birch Society and that Benson himself had written an article in favor of

? Which, sadly, cannot be found anywhere either on the internet or in Harding’s archives.

65

? "NORMAN THOMAS HITS BIRCH GROUP," New York Times, April 20, 1961.

66

? ibid

67

? ibid

68

? New York Times, "THOMAS IS DISPUTED OVER FILM ON REDS," May 10, 1961.

Birch Society membership in 1960.69 Exposed as a supporter of the ultra-right wing Birch

Society, Benson quickly lost most of his power and influence among the vast majority of the

American public. Benson would also resign the presidency of Harding in 1965, over long

festering issues of discontentment and feelings that Benson demanded ideological purity.70 These

issues had much to do with internal Church of Christ politics. The Churches of Christ were and

are very much a Congregationalist denomination in terms of church governance which allowed

Benson to become the de facto head of the group by the mid-1950s. But not everyone within the

denomination or at Harding was pleased with the course Benson had charted. In particular James

D. Bales and James Atteberry proved to be Benson’s harshest critics with Bales alleging that

Benson suppressed all dissent at Harding and within the broader Church of Christ movement.

Atteberry’s defection from the Benson line was also unexpected as in 1966 he wrote a very

flattering history of Harding College, but less than three years later he found himself forced to

resign after having a massive change of heart over the school’s programs.71 Benson was replaced

as president by the star of so many NEP films, Clifton Ganus.72 Benson himself remained

69

? Hicks, 76

70

? Hicks, 80

71

? James L. Atteberry, The Story of Harding College (Searcy, AR: Harding College, 1966),

72

? Hicks, 83

president of the NEP until his death, and he also served for 10 years as chancellor of Oklahoma

Christian University, another Churches of Christ institution, from 1957-1967. Benson was an

important figure in the history of OCU, as he again used his impeccable credentials with the

business community to secure funding for the school.73 But it was not just Benson who found

himself under increasing attack from outside. The first indications of a blowback against the NEP

came in a New York Times article from January 29, 1962 with the headline “Rightists Press Drive

in Schools” detailing the NEP’s high school educational programs. But the article also hints at

the potential financial irregularities within the NEP. The article points out that while they were

separate organizations the NEP was headquartered on the Harding campus rent free. It also

pointed out that the NEP had been tied to various hard right organizations like the John Birch

Society. But this was not the last time the Times would run a damaging story about the NEP’s

finances. A report from the Anti-Defamation League in 1964 over “aid to extremists” caused a

firestorm as the group accused various right wing groups like the NEP as using industrial money

and their tax exempt status to promote a right wing agenda. Benson lashed out at the critics

claiming that the NEP was “wholly non-partisan” and that accusations of anti-Semitism were not

true as Harding admitted Jewish students. Benson listed a large number of foundations as the

chief source of NEP funds and key among those was the Sloan Foundation with a supposed

$600,000 donation.74 But the next day the Sloan Foundation denied that it had ever donated to the

73

? "OC History," Oklahoma Christian University, http://blogs.oc.edu/ee/index.php?/ochistory/content/george_s_benson (accessed March 18, 2009).

74

? Irving Spiegel, "Aid to Right Wing Laid to Big Firms," New York Times, September 20, 1964.

NEP and that it had instead donated that money to Harding.75 These articles and accusations were

devastating to whatever credibility the NEP had left. While the NEP continued to produce

pamphlets and hold Freedom Forums it never again enjoyed the kind of prominence that it had in

the 1950s. It was still producing pamphlets into the 1970s and still conducted summer seminars

into the 1990s.76 But the NEP’s greatest legacy came with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Reagan was an old friend of Benson, he had even recorded a flowery address in honor of

Benson’s 80th birthday in 1978 extolling Benson as a protector of the American way of life.77

Reagan followed many of the prescriptions that Benson had suggested vastly increasing the size

of the military and ramping up the rhetoric in the fight against the Soviet Union. Reagan rejected

détente just as Benson did and it is not difficult to hear Benson’s voice in Reagan’s “Evil

Empire” speech. In fact much of Reagan’s rhetoric bears more than a passing resemblance to

some of the narration he gave in The Truth about Communism. It is not clear though, whether or

not Reagan participated in some of Benson’s more questionable contacts with groups such as the

John Birch Society.

Benson’s grip on the conservative movements’ messaging is still striking. Benson always

called it the “war” between communism and capitalism and that war imagery is still very strong

75

? Irving Spiegel, "SLOAN UNIT DENIES AID TO EXTREMISTS," New York Times, September 21, 1964.

76

? Hicks, 88

77

? Ronald Reagan, "Tribute to George Benson on his 80th Birthday" (speech, Harding University, Searcy, AR, September 26, 1978).

today. A casual look through the websites of organizations like Focus on the Family and the

National Right to Life Society reveals wars on the “Family”78, the “Unborn”79, “traditional

values”80, etc. And Benson’s use of persecution as a way to motivate remains a key tool in the

conservative arsenal. People like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh always warn their listeners

that they are being persecuted for holding their beliefs because only they are willing to speak out

against what they perceive as problems in American society. George Benson died on December

15, 1991 but his legacy will live on for a very long time.81

In conclusion, George Benson and the NEP have had a large but dramatically

understudied impact on 20th century American politics. Benson took traditional Church of Christ

themes like biblical inerrancy and literal interpretations of the Bible and began to apply them

things like the Constitution and free market capitalism. Coming as he did from a denomination

that emphasized its own correctness over all others Benson developed a powerful sense that he

and he alone had the answers for what he perceived to be America’s most pressing threat. When

questioned, he ignored them, secure in the knowledge that they most simply be on the side of the

78

? Welcome to Focus on the Family, http://www.focusonthefamily.com/ (accessed March 20, 2009).

79

? National Right to Life, http://www.nrlc.org/ (accessed March 20, 2009).

80

? Welcome to Focus on the Family, http://www.focusonthefamily.com/ (accessed March 20, 2009).

81

? Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock), "Obituary," December 16, 1991.

enemy. Benson’s potent blend of evangelical Christianity and anticommunism served to create a

new and powerful political coalition. Almost all modern conservatives owe a debt of gratitude to

Benson, including Benson’s most successful acolyte-Ronald Reagan. The NEP showed religious

conservatives the power of messaging. By couching their message in terms of economic

concerns they were able to avoid the brush of fanaticism that had so often sunk evangelicals

before. After the NEP faded in the mid-1960s so too did memories of it, with more visible figures

like Billy Graham getting most of the credit for the rise of evangelical power in American life.

But there can be no question that while Graham might be better known today it is Benson who

deserves most of the credit for creating one of the defining forces in American politics. The NEP

has broadly faded from memory. Its creations are now viewed more for their comedic value

rather than their insight into a key period in American history. Some conservative organizations

though still use the NEP cartoons in their campaigns, in particular the Moving Pictures Institute,

whose website features several anti-UN, pro-free market films alongside Make Mine Freedom.

Benson’s project to create a new sense of “Americanism” is still ongoing, and we will likely still

be discussing its affects many years from now.

Bibliography

"About Harding - History." Harding University - Faith, Learning, Living. http://www.harding.edu/about/history.html (accessed March 10, 2009).

America's Distribution of Wealth. DVD. Produced by National Education Program. Performed

by Clifton L. Ganus. United States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004. Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock). "George S. Benson-His Fight: Free Enterprise." December 14,

1952. Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock). "Obituary." December 16, 1991. Atteberry, James L. The Story of Harding College. Searcy, AR: Harding College, 1966. "Harding University - American Studies Institute - Welcome." Harding University - Faith,

Learning, Living. http://www.harding.edu/ASI/index.html (accessed March 10, 2009). Hart, D. That Old-Time Religion in Modern America Evangelical Protestantism in the Twentieth

Century (The American Ways Series). Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher, 2002.

Heale, M. J. American Anti-Communism Combating the Enemy Within, 1830-1970 (The American Moment). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins UP, 1990.

Hicks, L. Edward. "Sometimes in the wrong, but never in doubt" George S. Benson and the

education of the new religious right. Knoxville: University of Tennessee P, 1994. Hughes, Richard T. The Churches of Christ. Westport: Praeger Paperback, 2001. Illson, Murray. "NORMAN THOMAS HITS BIRCH GROUP." New York Times, April 20, 1961. Make Mine Freedom. DVD. Directed by John Sutherland. Produced by Harding College. United

States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004.

Marsden, George M. Understanding fundamentalism and evangelicalism. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 1991.

Meet King Joe. DVD. Directed by John Sutherland. Produced by Harding College. United States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004.

National Right to Life. http://www.nrlc.org/ (accessed March 20, 2009). New York Times. "American Studies." October 12, 1952, Review of Editorials sec. New York Times. "THOMAS IS DISPUTED OVER FILM ON REDS." May 10, 1961. "OC History." Oklahoma Christian University.

http://blogs.oc.edu/ee/index.php?/ochistory/content/george_s_benson (accessed March 18, 2009).

Phillips, Cabell. "Wide Anti-Red Drive Directed From Small Town in Arkansas." New York

Times, May 18, 1961. Reagan, Ronald. "Tribute to George Benson on his 80th Birthday." Speech, Harding University,

Searcy, AR, September 26, 1978. The Responsibilities of American Citizenship. DVD. Produced by National Education Program.

Performed by Clifton L. Ganus. United States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004.

Spiegel, Irving. "Aid to Right Wing Laid to Big Firms." New York Times, September 20, 1964. Spiegel, Irving. "SLOAN UNIT DENIES AID TO EXTREMISTS." New York Times, September

21, 1964. "The Truth About Communism." Google Video. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-

6582689092480970845 (accessed March 19, 2009). The War We Are In: Communism vs. Capitalism. DVD. Produced by National Education

Program. Performed by George S. Benson and Clifton L. Ganus. United States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004.

Welcome to Focus on the Family. http://www.focusonthefamily.com/ (accessed March 20, 2009). Why Play Leap Frog? DVD. Directed by John Sutherland. Produced by Harding College. United

States of America: Www.yumheart.com, 2004. "YouTube - American Economic Freedoms (1955)." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9F5ITAj4eY (accessed March 19, 2009).