Major Controversies Surrounding William F. Buckley Jr.: A Detailed Timeline

Controversies are a part of history. Explore the biggest scandals linked to William F. Buckley Jr..

William F. Buckley Jr. was a prominent American conservative intellectual, author, and political commentator. He is best known for founding the conservative magazine *National Review* in 1955, which became a leading voice in American conservatism. Buckley was a gifted debater and public speaker, frequently appearing on television and in public forums to advocate for conservative principles. His influence helped shape the modern conservative movement in the United States, promoting free markets, limited government, and a strong national defense. He also wrote numerous novels and non-fiction books throughout his career.

Sections (5)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Controversies & Scandals Legacy & Impact

1944: Vidal Implies Buckley's Siblings Vandalized Church

In September 1969, in his essay "A Distasteful Encounter with William F. Buckley", Gore Vidal implied that, in 1944, Buckley's unnamed siblings and possibly Buckley had vandalized a Protestant church in their Sharon, Connecticut, hometown, further escalating the feud.

1951: Criticism following 'God and Man at Yale'

In 1951, following the release of his book 'God and Man at Yale', Buckley faced criticism from figures like McGeorge Bundy and Henry Sloane Coffin regarding his Catholic perspective.

God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of 'Academic Freedom'

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1954: Co-authored 'McCarthy and His Enemies'

In 1954, William F. Buckley Jr. co-authored the book 'McCarthy and His Enemies' with his brother-in-law L. Brent Bozell Jr., defending Senator Joseph McCarthy.

McCarthy and his enemies: The record and its meaning

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August 24, 1957: Editorial "Why the South Must Prevail" Published

On August 24, 1957, William F. Buckley Jr.'s editorial "Why the South Must Prevail" was published in National Review. In the editorial, Buckley spoke out in favor of temporary segregation in the South, claiming that the black population lacked the education, economic, and cultural development to make racial equality possible. He argued that white Southerners were "entitled" to disenfranchise black voters because they were the "advanced race."

1957: Chambers's review of 'Atlas Shrugged'

After 1957, William F. Buckley Jr. attempted to distance Ayn Rand from the conservative movement by publishing Whittaker Chambers's unfavorable review of Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged'.

Atlas Shrugged

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1957: Welch Expresses Doubts About Eisenhower

In 1957, Robert Welch began to express doubts about President Eisenhower's loyalties, leading to disagreements with Buckley on the reasons for the United States' perceived failure in the early years of the Cold War.

1957: "Letter From Spain"

In 1957, William F. Buckley Jr. wrote a "Letter From Spain", calling Francisco Franco "an authentic national hero" who had the qualities needed to wrest Spain from "the hands of the visionaries, ideologues, Marxists and nihilists" who had been democratically elected.

November 1958: Welch Sends "The Politician" to Buckley

In November 1958, Robert Welch sent Buckley and other associates copies of his unpublished manuscript "The Politician", accusing President Eisenhower of involvement in a communist conspiracy. Buckley, upon returning the manuscript, found the allegations to be "curiously—almost pathetically optimistic."

1958: Buckley on the NAACP

In 1958, William F. Buckley Jr. linked his usage of the word advancement to its usage in the name NAACP, saying that the "call for the 'advancement' of colored people presupposes they are behind. Which they were, in 1958, by any standards of measurement."

1961: Comment on African Self-Government

In 1961, when asked when Africans would be ready for self-government, William F. Buckley Jr. replied, "When they stop eating each other".

1962: Buckley begins correspondence with Edgar Smith

In 1962, Edgar Smith, sentenced to death for murder, began corresponding with Buckley from death row, leading Buckley to doubt Smith's guilt.

1962: Buckley on African Nationalism

In 1962, William F. Buckley Jr. called African nationalism "self-discrediting" and said "the time is bound to come when" Westerners "realize what is the nature of the beast".

1962: Denounced Robert W. Welch Jr.

In 1962, William F. Buckley Jr. denounced Robert W. Welch Jr. and the John Birch Society as "far removed from common sense" in National Review, urging the Republican Party to purge itself of Welch's influence.

January 15, 1963: Buckley publishes "South African Fortnight"

On January 15, 1963, William F. Buckley Jr. published a feature essay in National Review titled "South African Fortnight." Buckley concluded with words concerning apartheid: "I know it is a sincere people's effort to fashion the land of peace they want so badly." In his report, Buckley tried to define apartheid and came up with four axioms on which the policy stands, the fourth being "The notion that the Bantu could participate in power on equal terms with the whites is the worst kind of ideological and social romance".

1964: Buckley on Ayn Rand's Philosophy

In 1964, Buckley wrote about the "desiccated philosophy's conclusive incompatibility with the conservative's emphasis on transcendence, intellectual and moral" of Ayn Rand. He emphasized the incongruity of tone and dogmatism.

November 1965: Buckley Publishes Article on Edgar Smith

In November 1965, Buckley published an article in Esquire about the case of Edgar Smith, who was sentenced to death for murder, drawing national media attention to the case.

1965: Buckley Runs for Mayor of New York City

In 1965, Buckley ran for mayor of New York City as the candidate for the new Conservative Party. He tried to take votes away from the relatively liberal Republican candidate and fellow Yale alumnus John Lindsay. He did not expect to win.

1965: Debate with James Baldwin

In 1965, William F. Buckley Jr. debated African American writer James Baldwin at the Cambridge Union. Buckley disagreed with the concept of structural racism and placed blame for lack of economic growth on the black community. Baldwin carried the floor vote by 544 to 164.

1968: Buckley Debates Gore Vidal

In 1968, Buckley appeared in a series of televised debates with Gore Vidal during the Republican National Convention in Miami and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

August 1969: Nixon Proposes Family Assistance Plan

In August 1969, President Nixon proposed and later attempted to enact the Family Assistance Plan (FAP), welfare legislation that would establish a national income floor of $1,600 per year for a family of four.

August 1969: Buckley's Essay Published in Esquire

In the August 1969 issue, Esquire magazine published Buckley's essay "On Experiencing Gore Vidal", continuing the feud between the two.

1969: Further Litigation with Esquire

After Esquire republished the original Vidal essay as part of a collection in 2003, further litigation was initiated, leading to an agreement where Esquire paid $65,000 to Buckley and his attorneys, destroyed remaining copies of the book, and published an open letter regretting the republication of the libels in the 2003 collection. This relates back to the original publication from 1969.

July 1971: Buckley Assembles Conservatives to Discuss Nixon's Policies

In July 1971, Buckley assembled a group of conservatives to discuss some of Richard Nixon's domestic and foreign policies that the group opposed.

July 28, 1971: Manhattan Twelve Announce Suspension of Support for Nixon

On July 28, 1971, The Manhattan Twelve published a letter announcing that they would no longer support President Nixon due to their opposition to his domestic and foreign policies.

1971: Smith Retrial and Release

In 1971, Edgar Smith had a retrial, took a plea deal, and was released from prison that year; Buckley interviewed him on Firing Line soon thereafter.

1971: Debate with Betty Friedan on Abortion

In 1971, William F. Buckley Jr. debated Betty Friedan on the topic of abortion.

1973: Support for Pinochet's Coup

In 1973, William F. Buckley Jr. supported the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, who led the coup that overthrew Chilean president Salvador Allende's democratically elected Marxist government. Buckley called Allende "a president who was defiling the Chilean constitution and waving proudly the banner of his friend and idol, Fidel Castro."

1976: Smith Attempts Another Murder

In 1976, five years after being released from prison, Edgar Smith attempted to murder another woman in San Diego, California. He was sentenced to life in prison and admitted he murdered Zielinski. Buckley expressed regret at having believed and supported Smith.

1977: Stockholm Declaration of 1977

In January 1978, Buckley resigned from the board of directors of Amnesty International USA in protest over the organization's stance against capital punishment as expressed in its Stockholm Declaration of 1977.

January 1978: Buckley Resigns from Amnesty International USA

February 1979: SEC Accuses Buckley of Shareholder Fraud

In February 1979, the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused Buckley and 10 other defendants of defrauding shareholders in Starr Broadcasting Group, a company in which Buckley owned a 20% stake. As part of the settlement, Buckley agreed to return $1.4 million in stock and cash to shareholders in the company.

1981: Second Agreement with SEC

In 1981, another agreement was reached with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) regarding Starr Broadcasting Group, following the initial settlement in 1979.

March 18, 1986: Op-Ed on AIDS Epidemic

On March 18, 1986, William F. Buckley Jr. addressed the AIDS epidemic in a New York Times op-ed. He argued that people infected with HIV should marry only if they agreed to sterilization and that universal testing should be mandatory. He also controversially suggested that everyone detected with AIDS should be tattooed.

1988: Buckley Campaigns Against Lowell Weicker

In 1988, Buckley organized a committee to campaign against U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker, a liberal Republican, and endorsed Weicker's Democratic opponent, Connecticut Attorney General Joseph Lieberman.

1991: Buckley Criticizes Buchanan

In 1991, William F. Buckley Jr. wrote a 40,000-word article criticizing Pat Buchanan, accusing him of anti-Semitism but concluding that Buchanan was not an anti-Semite, though he had said some anti-Semitic things.

2003: Esquire Republishes Vidal Essay

In 2003, Esquire republished the original Vidal essay as part of a collection titled Esquire's Big Book of Great Writing, reopening the feud between Buckley and Vidal.

2004: Buckley on AIDS Protocol

In 2004, William F. Buckley Jr. told The New York Times Magazine that if his proposed AIDS protocol had been accepted in 1986, many who caught the infection unguardedly would be alive.

February 2006: Buckley Declares Iraq War Failure

In a February 2006 column published at National Review Online and distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, William F. Buckley Jr. wrote, "One cannot doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed" and "it's important that we acknowledge in the inner councils of state that [the war] has failed, so that we should look for opportunities to cope with that failure."

December 3, 2007: Advocating for a tobacco ban

In his December 3, 2007, column, shortly after his wife's death, which he partially attributed to her smoking, Buckley seemed to advocate for banning tobacco use in America.

2007: Buckley's view on the Iraq War Troop Surge

In 2007, concerning the Iraq War troop surge, Buckley initially opposed it but later acknowledged its early success, suggesting it deserved more time to work.

2012: Stuart Stevens on Buckley's 'ugliness and bigotry'

In 2012, political consultant Stuart Stevens criticized Buckley, arguing that beneath his eloquence lay the same ugliness and bigotry associated with Trumpism.

2015: Best of Enemies Documentary

In 2015, the debates between Buckley and Vidal are chronicled in the documentary Best of Enemies, highlighting their contentious relationship.

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2020: Involvement in Argentina Media Campaign Uncovered

In 2020, the Columbia Journalism Review uncovered documents implicating William F. Buckley Jr. in a media campaign by the Argentina military junta promoting the regime's image while covering up the Dirty War.