Rockford Institute

The Rockford Institute was an American conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois.[2] It ran the John Randolph Club[3] and published the magazine Chronicles. In 2018 the Rockford Institute merged with the Charlemagne Institute (renamed from Intellectual Takeout also in 2018), which became the new publisher of Chronicles.[4] As of 2021 Devin C. Foley is listed as the institute's chief executive officer.[5] The Charlemagne Institute describes itself as "leading a cultural movement to defend and advance Western Civilization, the foundation of our American republic."[6]

Rockford Institute
Named afterRockford College
Merged intoCharlemagne Institute
SuccessorCharlemagne Institute
Formation1976 (1976)
FounderJohn A. Howard
Founded atRockford, IL
Dissolved2018 (2018)
Typenonprofit
36-3062112
Legal status501(c)(3)
Purposecultural advocacy
Headquarters
Budget
Revenue: $467,026
Expenses: $1,148,857
(FYE June 2016)[1]
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Chronicles peaked in the 1990s[7] and helped shape the paleoconservative revival that accompanied Patrick Buchanan's 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns.[8] At its peak, it had 15,000 subscribers.[7] As of September 2016 there were 6,700 subscribers.[9]

History

The institute was founded in 1976 by Rockford College president John A. Howard as a response to American social changes of the 1960s. Allan Carlson served as president until 1997. He and Howard left to found The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society which opposes abortion, divorce, and homosexuality, promoting instead the "child-rich, married parent" family,[10] an offshoot of the Rockford Institute.[2] It was located in Rockford, Illinois. They took with them two publications: Religion and Society Report newsletter and the monthly, Family in America.

Thomas Fleming, editor of Chronicles, succeeded Carlson as president of the Rockford Institute. The institute also retained the Ingersoll Prize.[2]

In 1988 the institute and Richard John Neuhaus, a Lutheran pastor, invited Cardinal Ratzinger to give a lecture in New York in January.[11] On 5 May 1989 Neuhaus and his Religion and Society Center were evicted from the institute's New York office after he complained about what he said were "the racist and anti-Semitic tones" of Chronicles.[2][12] The charge, which was supported by other leading conservatives, was denied by the institute.[13] They said the office, called Rockford East, was closed for budgetary reasons and because of concerns that Neuhaus was not following institute policies.[13] According to political commentator David Frum, the split was seen by leading conservatives as a sign of the division between the paleoconservative and the neo-conservative elements of the movement.[14]

Chronicles magazine
Cover of the July 2007 issue of Chronicles

Chronicles is a U.S. monthly magazine published by the Rockford Institute. Its full current name is Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture. The magazine is known for promoting anti-globalism, anti-intervention, and anti-immigration stances within conservative politics, and is considered one of the leading paleoconservative publications.[15][16] (It has also published libertarians and even leftists, such as Erwin Knoll and Gore Vidal.)

In 2000, James Warren at The Chicago Tribune commented that "There are few publications more cerebral than Chronicles".[17]

As of 2017, the executive editor was Aaron D. Wolf[18] and, as of 2012, Srđa Trifković was editor for foreign affairs.[19] Contributors over the years have included the conservative activist Peter Gemma, now living in Sarasota, Florida.[20] As of 2021, its website names Paul Gottfried as its Interim Editor-in-Chief and Edmund Welsch as Executive Editor, and was hosted by (and listed as a programme of) the Charlemagne Institute.[21][5]

Chronicles also promoted the activities of the John Randolph Club (1989-1995), a project of the Rockford Institute to promote dialogue and alliances between paleoconservatives and paleolibertarians.[22]

Editors

See also

References
  1. "The Rockford Institute" (PDF). Foundation Center. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  2. Duin, Julia (10 December 1997). "Rockford Institute chief leaves to form his own think tank". Washington Times. p. A.2.(subscription required)
  3. Heidi Beirich; Mark Potok (Winter 2003). "Paleoconservatives' Decry Immigration". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  4. "Mission and Vision - History". Charlemagne Institute. Bloomington, Minnesota. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  5. "Who We Are - About". Charlemagne Institute. 28 February 2021. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. "Charlemagne Institute | Defending & Advancing Western Civilization". Charlemagne Institute. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  7. E. Christian Kopff. Chronicles. First Principles. 3 September 2010.
  8. Blumenthal, Max (25 May 2011) [2006-09-20]. "Sen. John Cornyn Meets the Racist Right". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  9. Chronicles, Statement of Ownership, November, 2016, p. 7
  10. Columbius, Angela (18 January 2012). "Corbett aide who edited journal quits". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A4. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  11. Franklin, James L. (1 February 1988). "PROMOTER OF THE DOCTRINE VATICAN'S CARDINAL RATZINGER DEALS WITH DOGMA AND DISPUTES IN US VISIT". Boston Globe. p. 2.
  12. "Father Richard Neuhaus; Vocal US Lutheran pastor and civil rights activist who became a leading Catholic conservative commentator". The Times. London (UK). 16 January 2009. p. 75.
  13. BERNSTEIN, RICHARD (16 May 1989). "Magazine Dispute Reflects Rift on U.S. Right". New York Times. p. A.1.
  14. Frum, David (2 June 1989). "Cultural Clash on the Right". Wall Street Journal. p. 1.
  15. PaleoConservatives: New Voices of the Old Right, by Joseph Scotchie, pgs. 1 - 75.
  16. Francis, Samuel (16 December 2002). "The Paleo Persuasion". The American Conservative. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021.
  17. James Warren. "Chronicles Trumps Donald's Aspirations", The Chicago Tribune, 25 February 2000. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  18. "Chronicles", June 2017, p. 3
  19. Chronicles, September 2012, p. 4.
  20. "The Council for National Policy: Selected Member Biographies, Peter B. Gemma, Jr". seekgod.ca. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  21. "About Us - About". Chronicles. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  22. Slobodian, Quinn. "Anti-'68ers and the Racist-Libertarian Alliance: How a Schism among Austrian School Neoliberals Helped Spawn the Alt Right". Retrieved 17 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. Obituary (22 March 1985). "Leopold Tyrmand, 64, Editor Who Emigrated From Poland". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
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