 Peoples Temple, formed in
Indianapolis during 1950’s
 Jim Jones- Cult leader
 140 followers moved with Jones to
Redwood Valley in Mendocino
County, California

 Felt they would be safe from fallout in case of a nuclear attack on United
States if they lived there

Late 1960’s: congregation down to less than 100- on verge of collapse
 Jones had Peoples Temple form an affiliation with Disciples of Christ

 Membership started to go up
 Jones had larger influence in West
Coast area
 Moved group to San Francisco in
1971
 Opened another church in Los
Angeles

 Jones: in San Francisco, was appointed to city commissions and made grants to local newspapers with goal of supporting First Amendment
 Scandals and investigations started to go on in San Fran

 Jones decided to leave to create utopian community in Guyana
 Would have absolute power over his members since they were far away from US authorities/intervention or relatives of members

 1974- leased over 3000 acres of jungle land from the Guyanese government
 Members of Peoples Temple began construction of Jonestown under supervision of senior members who were assigned by Jones

 1977: membership was at 50, in
1978 it was at over 900
 Members thought Guyana was going to be a paradise- Jones had promised
 All of the residents, including the children, raised food and animals for
“Peoples Temple Agricultural
Project”

 Work was 6 days a week, 7 in morning to 6 in evening
 Temperatures reached over 100 degrees
 Meals would consist of rice and beans while Jones ate meat and other refrigerated foods

 Cruel and unusual punishment used against members considered to be serious disciplinary problems
 Imprisonment in a 6 by 4 by 3 foot plywood box and forcing children to spend a night at the bottom of a well

 Members who tried to run away were drugged to the point of incapacitation
 Armed guards patrolled compound day and night to ensure Jones’s orders were followed

 Children were in communal care

Addressed Jones as “Dad”
 Only allowed to see real parents briefly at night

Jones was called “Father” or “Dad” by adults as well

 Guyanese locals have told horror stories of punishments, and the
“torture hole” where children were put in the middle of the night
 He told children there was a monster living in the bottom of the well
 Had people pull and tug children when they went into well


“White Nights” –rehearsed mass suicides
 In practice nights, people were told they would die, were forced to drink unsweetened Flavor Aid, told it contained poison
 Only after everyone drank the concoction were they informed they was no poison

 This was a test of loyalty and faith in
Jones

Phrase “Drinking the kool-aid” came from this

 November 1978
 Congressman Leo Ryan, Democrat from San Francisco, flew to
Jonestown
 Team of 18 people, officials, media representatives, members of group
“Concerned Relatives of Peoples
Temple Members”

 They intended to investigate allegations that human rights were being violated daily at the Peoples
Temple, individuals being held against their free will, individuals had their money and passports confiscated, mass suicide rehearsals were being conducted

 Ryan and group came
 Some Peoples Temple members moved to defect
 Others left the colony, Jones was angry when he found out

 Ryan did not have a large enough plane to carry those who wanted to leave, they would have to schedule another flight

Member of Temple, on Jones’s orders, attacked Ryan with knife

 A loyalist demanded to join group leaving
 People on plane did not like idea, but
Ryan said that they would take anyone who wanted to leave
 Loyalist opened fire right before take off

 A tractor appeared, circled plane and opened fire
 Shooting was filmed, even though cameraman was killed
 Congressman Ryan and some news team members were killed

 Jim Jones called a meeting of the community- Nov 18, 1978
 He told the people that Ryan was going to be killed and that that would cause an attack on Jonestown and everyone would be killed

 Mixed cyanide and Valium into a metal vat full of grape “Flavor Aid” a
Kool-Aid knock-off
 Caused death in about 5 minutes
 No one who drank the poison that evening survived

 Babies and small children were first, over two hundred of them
 Poured into mouths with syringes
 Afterward were the adults with paper cups of poison
 Told to lie down together along walkways

 Jones was dead as well from a gunshot wound. No one knows if he committed suicide or if someone else shot him

 Many thought this was just another rehearsal and did not see the people convulsing and dying
 Some armed guards had to shoot people who were resisting
 909 Temple members died and 5 others (including Ryan)

 How could one man achieve such control?
 Jim Jones had a paranoid belief that the American government was plotting to destroy anyone who was involved in the Peoples Temple

 Jones had always removed the
“threats” to the safety of his followers
 They learned to trust him and call him “Father”
 Self-sufficient community
 Everyone would be equal

 Drew himself to the outcasts of society, as well as those who wanted to help the downtrodden, serve those in need
 Preached the need for racial brotherhood and integration
 Both black and white worshipped side by side

 Congregation worked to feed the poor, find employment for the jobless, and help ex-criminals and drug addicts put their lives back together
 Started to put more and more demands on congregation

 Started promising miraculous healings where cancers would be removed and the blind made to see
 Recruits would witness a community of brotherhood and fellowship where everyone, no matter their social standing or color, was treated as equals

 Severe initiation was required by new members, made entry that much more desirable
 Created a much higher level of commitment from members
 More that was sacrificed, more that was achieved

 By the time the members thought demands were oppressive, they were so heavily committed they just accepted it

Demands on member’s time, financial commitment would increase, amounts given recorded openly

 Highest level of commitment was when the individual or family lived at the Peoples Temple facilitieshanding over all personal property, savings, and social security checks
 Communal living
 Capitalism was evil and destructive

 Achievement of higher spirituality would require a struggle against own weaknesses
 Usually had isolated themselves from family and friends, couldn’t admit mistakes, would be alone without a support group

 If you left the complex, you had no passport, papers, or money to help you escape