Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
“An American Tragedy” is an episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered that will air on Oxygen on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. It will delve deeper into the life and crimes of Jim Jones, who started the Peoples Temple, the most infamous cult in American history.
Jim Jones was born in Lynn, Indiana, on May 13, 1931. The ideas of the Pentecostal and Methodist preachers inspired Jones to become one himself. By the 1950s, he started the Peoples Temple, which promoted the ideas of desegregation, social justice, and racial and class equality. He married Marceline Baldwin, and the couple had a son named Stephan. According to ABC News, they also adopted many Korean-American, African-American, and Native American children.
In the 1970s, Jim Jones moved the church to San Fransisco with roughly 5000 members. After the institution moved away from traditional Christian ideologies, Jones began claiming that he was a reincarnation of divine figures like Christ and Buddha. According to The Guardian, he also claimed that his ultimate goal was the spread of communist ideologies and that religion was his path to achieve Marxism. By the end of the 1970s, the Peoples Temple gained widespread influence.
History Channel reported that on November 18, 1978, Jim Jones led hundreds of his followers in a mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana, where Jones leased land from the government. Many of his followers voluntarily ingested poison-laced punch into their blood. Some followers coerced others to do so at gunpoint. 909 followers died in the process, out of which one-third members were children.
How did Jim Jones trap his followers?
Jim Jones reportedly imposed emotional and physical abuse on his followers. He allegedly moved his followers to a 3,800-acre land in South America. People magazine reported that he leased the compound from the government of Guyana and reportedly promised the development of a utopian society. The move facilitated his control over every aspect of his followers’ lives.
The New York Times reported that Jim Jones’ method of combining religion and social activism made his ideologies attractive. He then claimed he could perform miracles, displayed a skill for organizing projects, and emphasized the need for a large religious congregation. Simultaneously, he began to enjoy a lot of power. He created fake healing while many followers began to allege that he cured them of arthritis.
Jim Jones’ followers were reportedly socially conscious people. The cult expected them to devote themselves by isolating themselves and breaking contact with family, turning over personal wealth, and offering long hours of unpaid labor. Once they moved to Jonestown, Jones allegedly expected them to work for the whole day. The Guardian reported that his monologues played on the megaphone. They also had to attend mandatory propaganda classes. Red Brigade, an armed force, executed the rules of Jonestown.
As per the outlet, Jones referred to the final massacre as the “white night.” He then ordered that the children be killed first. Anyone who didn’t comply was killed forcefully. Jones also died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“An American Tragedy” will air on Oxygen on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.
