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John Tanton

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John Hamilton Tanton (February 23, 1934 – July 16, 2019) was an American ophthalmologist, white nationalist, and anti-immigration activist. He was the founder and first chairman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an anti-immigration organization. He was the co-founder of the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-immigration think tank; and NumbersUSA, an anti-immigration lobbying group.

John Tanton
Tanton in October 2004
Born(1934-02-23)February 23, 1934
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DiedJuly 16, 2019(2019-07-16) (aged 85)
Petoskey, Michigan, U.S.
Alma materMichigan State University (BS)
University of Michigan (MS, MD)
Occupation(s)Ophthalmologist, activist
SpouseMary Lou Tanton

He was chairman of U.S. English and ProEnglish. He was briefly President of Zero Population Growth. He was the founder of The Social Contract Press, which published a quarterly journal of nativist and white nationalist writers called The Social Contract until the fall of 2019. He founded the pro-eugenics organization Society for Genetic Education.

Early life and career

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John Hamilton Tanton was born February 23, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan.[1][2][3] In 1945, he moved with his family to a farm northeast of Bay City, Michigan, on which his mother had been raised and on which he worked.[4] His mother was a fundamentalist Christian, a member of the Evangelical United Brethren Church. In his youth he played baseball and football.[5]

He studied medicine.[5] Tanton graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Michigan State University in 1956, received an M.D. from the University of Michigan in 1960, and received an M.S. in ophthalmology from the University of Michigan in 1964.[2] Tanton ran an ophthalmology practice in Petoskey, Michigan.[6]

Political advocacy

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Tanton was an anti-immigration activist,[6][7][8] and white nationalist.[9][10][11] He was the founder and patron of many anti-immigration non-profit organizations,[12][13] including ProEnglish.[14] By 2019, six anti-immigrant groups founded by Tanton were designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[14] Tanton complained that he had been smeared as a racist.[15]

Earlier in his advocacy career, he founded the Petoskey chapter of the Sierra Club, helped found the northern Michigan chapter of Planned Parenthood, and became an active member and then president of Zero Population Growth from 1975 to 1977.[7][16][5] Unable to secure support from colleagues in groups such as Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club to limit immigration, in 1979 he founded the non-profit Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) with early support from Warren Buffett and Eugene McCarthy, with the promise that it would be "centrist/liberal in political orientation".[6][16] Under Tanton's leadership FAIR was criticized for taking funding for many years from the Pioneer Fund, a non-profit foundation dedicated to "improving the character of the American people" by, among other things, promoting the practice of eugenics, or selective breeding.[17] FAIR responded to this criticism by asserting that the Pioneer Fund clearly states that it supports equal opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity; that other major organizations, including universities in the United States and other countries, have also accepted grants from the Fund;[18] and that the Pioneer Fund's contributions to FAIR were used only for the general operation of the organization.[19]

In 1983, he co-founded U.S. English with former United States Senator S. I. Hayakawa[7][14] to advocate for making English the official language of the United States.[20] In 1988, shortly before a referendum in Arizona to make English the state's official language, a memo written by Tanton in 1986 was leaked to the media.[21][22] After the memo was published in various newspapers including the Arizona Republic, executive director Linda Chavez resigned.[23] Former supporters of the group, including Walter Cronkite, Saul Bellow, and Gore Vidal, also ended their association, and Tanton resigned from his position as chairman.[7][17] Both FAIR and Social Contract Press are designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).[24][25] In 2001, the SPLC included these groups, and Tanton, in a list of inter-connected network of anti-immigration groups which espouse bigotry, either openly, or thinly disguised.[26] He also founded the pro-eugenics organization, the Society for Genetic Education (SAGE).[27]

Additionally, Tanton co-founded and was heavily involved in the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), Numbers USA, the American Immigration Control Foundation, American Patrol/Voices of Citizens Together, Californians for Population Stabilization, and ProjectUSA.[9][10][28] Donations flow through U.S. Inc.,[29][30] which also supports Scenic Michigan, the International Dark-Sky Association, the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decisions Series, and the Harbor Springs chapter of the North Country Trail Association. Tanton served on the Board of Population-Environment Balance.[31] Tanton founded the Social Contract Press in 1990. He served as its publisher. Additionally, he was the editor-in-chief of its journal, The Social Contract, since 1998 until the fall of 2019.[32][33] He co-authored the book The Immigrant Invasion with Wayne Lutton, which was published by the Social Contract Press in 1994.[34]

Views

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Tanton's anti-immigration rhetoric combined concerns about ecology and promotion of eugenics; he couched his promotion of these ideas in liberal concerns over sustainability.[5] His views on immigration were influenced by climate and environmental concerns, arguing in the 1980s that climate change would have a major impact on America's borders and lead to conflict.[5] Tanton was for eugenics, the process of "improving the genetic quality of the human population". Tanton wrote a paper in 1975 arguing for "passive eugenics" whereby child-bearing would be restricted to those between the ages of 20 and 35.[27][35]

Later, his views and statements began to become overtly racist and extremist, and he began to draw close to Jared Taylor, whose books he admired and who was a regular at his conferences.[5] In the words of Rafael Bernal of the Hill, Tanton's opposition to immigration was "on the grounds of population reduction and protection of an ethnic white majority".[36] According to the New York Times, Tanton over time increasingly made his case against immigration in "racial terms".[37] According to the New York Times, Tanton also said "One of my prime concerns is about the decline of folks who look like you and me ... for European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-American majority, and a clear one at that."[37]

Tanton's environmentalist and anti-immigration activities are well-documented in 15 file boxes of archives he donated to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. Another 10 file boxes are sealed until 2035.[38][39] A February 2009 Southern Poverty Law Center report examined Tanton's written correspondence[39] highlighted alleged connections between Tanton's anti-immigration efforts and white supremacist, neo-Nazi and pro-eugenics leaders, calling Tanton the "puppeteer of the nativist movement" with deep racist roots and ties to many white supremacists and eugenicists.[38]

Tanton's promotion of such views has been influential, with ProPublica noting influences on Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson, white supremacist Richard Spencer, Ann Coulter. They noted similar ideas as having influenced Brenton Tarrant, the perpetrator of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, who murdered 51 people, and a similar terrorist attack carried out in El Paso a few months later.[5]

Personal life and death

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Tanton was married to Mary Lou Tanton, who he met at MSU in 1956. She chairs the U.S. Immigration Reform PAC.[40][5] She also co-founded Scenic Michigan.[41] Tanton had Parkinson's disease for his last 16 years.[3][5] He died in Petoskey, Michigan on July 16, 2019.[8][42]

References

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  1. ^ Gonzalez, Josue M. (June 5, 2008). Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781452265964. Retrieved March 1, 2019 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b "John Tanton Papers 1960-2007: Biography". Bentley Historical Library. University of Michigan. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Schudel, Matt (July 21, 2019). "John Tanton, architect of anti-immigration and English-only efforts, dies at 85". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "Sustainable Agriculture?" (PDF). The Social Contract Press.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lustgarten, Abrahm (October 19, 2024). "The Ghosts of John Tanton". ProPublica. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c DeParle, Jason (April 17, 2011). "The Anti-Immigration Crusader". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d Schudel, Matt (July 21, 2019). "John Tanton, architect of anti-immigration and English-only efforts, dies at 85". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Anti-immigrant leader Dr. John Tanton of Michigan dies at 85". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Woods, Joshua; Manning, Jason; Matz, Jacob (October 2, 2015). "The Impression Management Tactics of an Immigration Think Tank". Sociological Focus. 48 (4): 354–372. doi:10.1080/00380237.2015.1064852. ISSN 0038-0237. S2CID 157399186.
  10. ^ a b Ellis, Emma (January 14, 2017). "Fake Think Tanks Fuel Fake News". Wired. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  11. ^ Corbett, Erin (May 25, 2019). "Who Is Julie Kirchner? Anti-Immigration Activist May Head Immigration". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  12. ^ Pear, Robert (July 15, 2007). "Little-Known Group Claims a Win on Immigration". New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2008. Numbers USA is one of many organizations fostered by John H. Tanton, an ophthalmologist from Michigan who has also championed efforts to protect the environment, limit population growth and promote English as an official language.
  13. ^ "John Tanton's Network". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Summer 2002. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  14. ^ a b c Díez, Beatriz (December 3, 2019). "'English Only': The movement to limit Spanish speaking in US". BBC News. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  15. ^ Tanton, John (October 30, 1988). "U.S. English – it's being victimized by the 'Big Lie'". Houston Chronicle. p. 5.
  16. ^ a b Hayes, Christopher (April 24, 2006). "Keeping America Empty – In These Times". In These Times. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Potok, Mark, Intelligence Report, Spring 2004, pp. 59–63.
  18. ^ "Pioneer Fund Grants, Part VI". Institute for the Study of Academic Racism. Ferris State University. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  19. ^ "Response to the Southern Poverty Law Center". Federation for American Immigration Reform. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012.
  20. ^ Portes, Alejandro (Spring 2002). "English-only triumphs, but the costs are high". Contexts. 1: 10–15. doi:10.1525/ctx.2002.1.1.10. S2CID 62565233. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  21. ^ Kuang, Brian (September 18, 2018). "John Tanton, the nativist next door". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  22. ^ "'WITAN Memo' III: Addressed to attendees of Tanton's exclusive retreats, where colleagues met to discuss the future of immigration, this memo is the most explicit, discussing Latinos and others in derogatory terms". The Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  23. ^ Chavez, Linda (August 9, 2019). "When Humans Are Seen As Pollutants". The Bulwark. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  24. ^ "Federation for American Immigration Reform". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  25. ^ "The Social Contract Press". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  26. ^ "Anti-Immigration Groups". Intelligence Report (101). Southern Poverty Law Center. Spring 2001. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  27. ^ a b "Ties Between Anti-Immigrant Movement and Eugenics". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  28. ^ Sherman, Amy (March 22, 2017). "Is the Center for Immigration Studies a 'hate group' ?". PolitiFact Florida. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  29. ^ "The organized anti-immigration 'movement,' increasingly in bed with racist hate groups, is dominated by one man, John Tanton". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Summer 2002. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  30. ^ "The Puppeteer". Hate in the News. Tolerance.org. June 18, 2002. Archived from the original on August 10, 2002.
  31. ^ "The Network". Hate in the News. Tolerance.org. June 18, 2002. Archived from the original on December 26, 2002.
  32. ^ "The Social Contract Publishes its Last Tract". Southern Poverty Law Center. April 23, 2020.
  33. ^ "The Social Contract Journal". Social Contract Press.
  34. ^ Lutton, Wayne; Tanton, John (1994). The Immigrant Invasion. Petoskey: Social Contract Press. ISBN 1881780015. OCLC 476592586.
  35. ^ Santana, Maria (April 12, 2017). "Hard-line anti-illegal immigration advocates hired at 2 federal agencies". CNN.com. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  36. ^ Master, Cyra (April 12, 2017). "DHS hires incense immigration supporters". TheHill. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  37. ^ a b Deparle, Jason (April 17, 2011). "The Anti-Immigration Crusader". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  38. ^ a b Beirich, Heidi (February 26, 2009). "SPLC: The Nativist Lobby: Three Faces of Intolerance" (PDF). Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 14, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  39. ^ a b "John Tanton's files". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
  40. ^ Bulkeley, Deborah (February 25, 2006). "Foe of immigrant tuition denies supremacist links". Deseret News. pp. B.01. ISSN 0745-4724.
  41. ^ "Mary Lou Tanton". Michigan 4-H Foundation.
  42. ^ Slagter, Martin (July 18, 2019). "Michigan founder of anti-immigration movement John Tanton dead at 85". mlive.com. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
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