Jim Jones had built a huge cult following and become obsessed with his power. It is forty years since the Jonestown Massacre. What was Jonestown, and why did it exist?
This is Part Three of a short series of posts on the events leading up to The Jonestown Massacre on 18 November 1978. For the story behind Jim Jones achieving absolute power over his followers, see Drinking the Kool-Aid: Part Two, Total Control
The heat
Jim Jones, the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple cult, had finally run out of runway in California. By 1976 the Peoples Temple had some 20,000 members. Jones had gained enormous power over them and insisted on, and got, their absolute loyalty. He had friends at the highest levels of government and had considerable political influence in San Fransisco.
Jones fled to Guyana on the night the contents of an upcoming exposé in the New West Magazine was read out to him on the phone. (View the article here.) The pressure had been mounting on him as questions were being asked by state and federal authorities. Defectors were telling their stories of beatings, humiliation and abuse. Temple defectors and family members had formed support groups, including one named the “Concerned Relatives” group, founded by very senior Temple defectors, Tim and Grace Stoen. The Stoen's son was held by the Temple with Jones claiming the boy as his son.
Jonestown
In the early 1960s, Jones visited Guyana—then a British colony—while on his way to establishing a short-lived Temple mission in Brazil. In late 1973, after the first critical report of the Peoples Temple appeared, Jones and Temple attorney Tim Stoen prepared an “immediate action” contingency plan for responding to a police or media crackdown. They chose Guyana as a refuge after conducting research on its economy and extradition treaties with the US. The directors of the Temple passed a resolution to establish an agricultural mission there.
Jones favoured Guyana because it was the only English-speaking country in South America, had a socialist regime and the land was cheap. He also felt that since the government included prominent black leaders, black Temple members would find it a peaceful place to live. And, of course, Jones thought he could easily become influential in the poor country and obtain official protection.
In 1974, Jones negotiated a lease of over 1,500 ha of land in the jungle located 240 km west of the capital, Georgetown. The site was was by no means ideal: it had poor soil and the nearest body of water was 11 km away by muddy roads.
500 Temple members were dispatched to start building Jonestown. The Guyanese were nervous about a huge influx of immigrants, but a deal was struck to allow Temple members' mass immigration but inhibit immigration of their opponents—in exchange for investments in the economy. Jones made friends with Prime Minister Burnham and his wife and pledged loyalty to the ruling party.
Utopia
Jones and several hundred of his followers moved to Jonestown in the summer of 1977. The belief was, as Jones had promised, that this was a paradise. Utopia. Surviving members describe the first few months there as among the happiest of their lives. They worked 18 hours a day but were inspired with a real passion to build a community. It was the promised land.
But that was about to change.
The poor soil and lack of water made it difficult to grow crops and as more members arrived there was insufficient food to feed them. So, much of the food had to be imported, but the rations were meager. Illnesses were rife.
The work schedule was harsh and there was little rest. After work, members had to attend hours of activities such as classes in socialism. Jones said he modelled it on the North Korean system of eight hours of daily work followed by eight hours of study. He subjected his followers to sophisticated mind control and behaviour modification techniques borrowed from North Korea and China. They were subjected to repeated screenings of communist propaganda films from Moscow and Havana. These were minutely analysed by Jones and he was greatly angered if anyone didn't find them interesting.
Punishment for disciplinary problems was extremely harsh. Methods included imprisonment in a 1.8 × 1.2 × 0.9m plywood box and forcing children to spend a night at the bottom of a well, sometimes upside-down. For some members who attempted to escape, powerful psychiatric drugs were administered in an “extended care unit”. Armed guards patrolled the area day and night to enforce Jonestown's rules.
Jim Jones stands next to Tim Stoen with Grace Stoen and an unknown man holding John Stoen, whom Jones claimed was his own son
White nights
Jones frequently spoke about the CIA and “capitalist pigs” coming to destroy their settlement. He often conducted what he called “White Nights”, where he gave his followers four options to follow in case of attack: flee to the Soviet Union, commit “revolutionary suicide”, stay in Jonestown and fight, or flee into the jungle. On at least two occasions when the vote was for suicide, Jones lined everyone up—including children—and give them a small glass of liquid to drink. They were told it was poison and they would die in 45 minutes. When time was up he would tell them it was just a loyalty test, but the time would come when it would become necessary to die at their own hands.
In 1976 Jones had obtained a jeweller's license to buy cyanide. Since then the Temple received monthly half-pound shipments of the chemical.
In September 1977, former Temple members Tim and Grace Stoen obtained a court order in Georgetown for the Temple to show cause why a final order should not be issued returning their five-year-old son, John. A few days later, an order was issued for John to be taken into protective custody by the authorities.
The fear of being held in contempt of the orders caused Jones to set up a false sniper attack upon himself and begin his first series of White Nights, called the “Six Day Siege”. During the Siege, Jones spoke to Temple members about attacks from outsiders and had them surround Jonestown with guns and machetes. Bizarrely, Angela Davis and Huey Newton communicated via radio-telephone to the Jonestown crowd, urging them to hold strong against the “conspiracy”. Jones made radio broadcasts stating, “we will die unless we are granted freedom from harassment and asylum.” Finally, an assurance was given that the Guyana Defence Force would not invade Jonestown.
Congressman Leo Ryan
Trouble brewing
In late 1977 and early 1978, the Concerned Relatives group engaged in letter writing campaigns to the US Secretary of State and the Guyanese government and pressured Washington to begin an investigation. In January 1978, Tim Stoen wrote to Congress detailing his grievances and requesting that congressmen write to Prime Minister Burnham. 91 congressmen wrote such letters, including Congressman Leo Ryan of California.
The story of the Stoen's custody battle also reached the press. The report prompted the immediate threat of a lawsuit by the Temple. The repercussions were devastating for the Temple's reputation. Jones conjured up a number of conspiracy theories that were spread by his supporters. Jones' lawyer visited Jonestown to providing support for Jones' theories, comparing him to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jonestown had been bad for Jones' health. In 1978, Jones contracted a possible lung infection. Ever the one to capitalise on a situation, he announced he had lung cancer. His abuse of drugs grew worse—injecting stimulants, LSD, and barbiturates among others. His health deteriorated rapidly. One visiting reporter thought it was “shocking to see his glazed eyes and festering paranoia face to face, to realize that nearly a thousand lives, ours included, were in his hands”.
Meanwhile, Congressman Leo Ryan announced that he would visit Jonestown. Ryan was friends with the father of Bob Houston, a Temple member in California whose mutilated body was found near train tracks on October 5, 1976. Over the following months, Ryan's interest was further aroused by the allegations put forth by Stoen and the Concerned Relatives.
On 14 November 1978, Ryan flew to Jonestown.
This series on the Jonestown Massacre will be continued in Part Four, tomorrow
Previous posts in this series:
Drinking the Kool-Aid: Introduction
Drinking the Kool-Aid: Part One, The Making of a Cult
Drinking the Kool-Aid: Part Two, Total Control
References:
https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=47
http://theava.com/archives/50717
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/17/an-apocalyptic-cult-900-dead-remembering-the-jonestown-massacre-40-years-on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown
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