''Chronicles'' is a U.S. monthly magazine published by the
Charlemagne Institute and associated with
paleoconservative
Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns over ...
views.
Its full current name is ''Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture''. It was founded in 1977 by the
Rockford Institute
The Rockford Institute was an American conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois. Founded in 1976, it ran the John Randolph Club and published the magazine '' Chronicles''. In 2018 the Rockford In ...
. Today, the journal is published by the successor organization Charlemagne Institute. Since 2021,
Paul Gottfried
Paul Edward Gottfried (born November 21, 1941) is an American paleoconservative political philosopher, historian, and writer. He is a former Professor of Humanities at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. He is editor-in-chief of the paleocon ...
is the editor-in-chief.
''Chronicles'' has had close ties to the
neo-Confederate movement.''
'
'' The
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
(SPLC) said in 2017 that ''Chronicles'' "caters to the more intellectual wing of the
white nationalist
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...
movement".
History
In the first years since inception in 1977, the magazine was an
anticommunist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...
bi-monthly called ''Chronicles of Culture'', edited by
Leopold Tyrmand (1920–85), pen name of Jan Andrzej Stanislaw Kowalski, a Polish novelist and co-founder of the
Rockford Institute
The Rockford Institute was an American conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois. Founded in 1976, it ran the John Randolph Club and published the magazine '' Chronicles''. In 2018 the Rockford In ...
who had previously written for ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
''.
In its first decade, the magazine grew to some 5,000 subscribers, according to
E. Christian Kopff.
["A brief history of ''Chronicles''" by E. Christian Kopff](_blank)
'' First Principles Journal''
Wayback machine link
The magazine became a monthly publication in 1982. In 1984,
Thomas Fleming joined as managing editor. Fleming, who had been a co-founder of ''
Southern Partisan'' magazine, brought
neo-Confederate views to ''Chronicles''.''
''
By 1989 the subscription list had grown to nearly 15,000. Fleming published right-wing authors like
Sam Francis,
Clyde N. Wilson,
Paul Gottfried
Paul Edward Gottfried (born November 21, 1941) is an American paleoconservative political philosopher, historian, and writer. He is a former Professor of Humanities at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. He is editor-in-chief of the paleocon ...
, and
Chilton Williamson Jr. As the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
broke up at the end of the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
and nationalism rose there and in
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
, some articles in ''Chronicles'' argued that the United States too would need to disintegrate by ethnicity.''
'' ''Chronicles'' "churned out regular anti-immigrant pieces, attacking Latin American and Southeast Asian immigration on the basis of race, culture, national identity and populist defense of the white working class", according to Joseph Lowndes.
The magazine’s political influence reached its zenith in 1992 when prominent conservative journalist and politician
Patrick J. Buchanan ran for president. His failed candidacies in 1996 and 2000 paralleled ''Chronicles''’ drop in subscribers in the 1990s from nearly 15,000 to about 6,000.
Joseph Scotchie, who has written for ''Chronicles'', described it in 1999 as emphasizing anti-intervention in foreign policy, anti-globalism, and aversion to mass immigration. In 2000,
James Warren of ''
The Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...
'' called ''Chronicles'' "right-leaning" and wrote, "There are few publications more cerebral". He described a ''Chronicles'' article criticizing the finances of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, who was then considering a
Reform Party presidential campaign. Historians in the 2000s described writers associated with ''Chronicles'' as "Neo-Agrarian conservatives"
revering Southern beliefs.
In the 2000s, the magazine ran into severe financial difficulties. According to its own account, it received a large donation of “several million dollars” by Hannelore Schwindt, a native German who had married a Texan, in her will in 2008.
[By its own account in the Aaron Wolf obituary: "Scott Richert related a story that began with Aaron receiving in late 2006 an article submission from Egon Tausch entitled Gott Mit Uns. It described the history and subculture of German immigrants in Texas. ... The article appeared in the August 2007 edition. A few weeks later, Hannelore Schwindt, a native German who had married a Texas German, sent a small donation to Chronicles. When she died a year and a half later, her will left the magazine several million dollars."] The executive editor at the time was Aaron D. Wolf, who died in 2019.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) described ''Chronicles'' in 2017 as "a publication with strong neo-Confederate ties that caters to the more intellectual wing of the white nationalist movement",
and in another article said it was "controversial even among conservatives for its racism and anti-Semitism".
Srđa Trifković is a longstanding editor for foreign affairs.
In 2021, Gottfried was appointed as Interim-Editor and he has stayed in this position until today.
Editors
*
Leopold Tyrmand 1977–1985
*
Thomas Fleming 1985–2021
*
Paul Gottfried
Paul Edward Gottfried (born November 21, 1941) is an American paleoconservative political philosopher, historian, and writer. He is a former Professor of Humanities at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. He is editor-in-chief of the paleocon ...
(acting) since 2021
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://chroniclesmagazine.org/
Magazines established in 1976
Conservative magazines published in the United States
Mass media in Rockford, Illinois
Magazines published in Illinois
Paleoconservative publications
Neo-Confederate organizations