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Fred C. Schwarz (1913–2009) was an Australian-born medical doctor and evangelical preacher who settled in the United States in the early 1950s, where he founded the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade. His work as an anticommunist educator spanned five decades; his campaigns attracted large crowds, strengthened grassroots conservatism, and influenced political leaders. By the late 1950s, the Crusade had become one of the most important conservative organizations in America, turning numerous citizens into lifelong right-wing militants.
In Teaching Anticommunism Hubert Villeneuve sheds light on Schwarz's fascinating career and organization, which left a distinct mark on the United States and was also active internationally. Cold War anticommunism in the US consisted of more than the House Un-American Activities Committee and the campaign led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Villeneuve shows that, by the early 1960s, Schwarz's Crusade was an integral part of a burgeoning American anticommunist subculture that united grassroots conservatives of all stripes. Its influence continued, paving the way for the development of the "New Right" that began in the 1970s. In addition to exploring the life and work of Schwarz, the book highlights the transnational dimension of US conservatism by outlining the Crusade's role in worldwide anticommunist networks that operated throughout the Cold War.
Packed with unnerving evidence but leavened with humorous anecdotes and insights into a mercurial figure, Teaching Anticommunism provides a unique perspective on the evolution of the contemporary American right wing and its global connections.
“Teaching Anticommunism builds a strong case that Schwarz and the CACC played key roles in forging the arguments against communism that had significant influence in the United States and across the globe.” Church History
“[Villeneuve’s] arguments connecting [the CACC and the US Right] are substantial and richly supported with evidence [and] shed light on a larger phenomenon and movement in US history. Artfully presented and diligently cited, this book adds a unique perspective to Cold War and US conservative history.” Cold War History
“A sober, detailed, and fair-minded portrait of an organization that attracted wealthy donors, numerous public figures, and thousands of middleclass, religious Americans to combat the Communist menace. [It] provides as thorough an accounting of the CACC’s successes and failures as we will ever need and suggests the ways the organization foreshadowed the rise of the “new right” of the 1980s.” Journal of Cold War Studies
“Teaching Anticommunism is a first-class piece of historical scholarship. It opens new avenues for scholarship and serves as a model for further research for the politics and culture of the early Cold War era.” American Historical Review
"Through his analysis of Schwarz's life and career, Villeneuve makes a distinctive and valuable argument about the development of modern American conservatism and offers a needed perspective on the broader subject of the Right in the United States after the Second World War." Robert Mason, University of Edinburgh