Charles Manson: America's Most Famous Cult Leader

A notorious cult leader dies at age 83 in Bakersfield, California. Born on November 12, 1934, Charles Manson lived a life of crime. From a young age, he was living on the streets committing petty thefts for food and money. Charles Manson spent the next 32 year of his life going in and out of prison. During the late 1960s, the Manson Family rose from the depths. A cult made up of young drug addicts devoted their lives to Charles Manson. After brutally murdering several people, Manson was convicted of nine murders.

In the late 1960s Manson created the Manson Family, a quasi-commune, that is held responsible for 35 murders. What makes a person do such heinous things? Well, for Charles Manson it was having schizophrenia, his interest in music, and his

Americans have always been in search for bigger answers to life and seeking spiritual enlightenment. In the 1970’s new religions started to emerge many people flocked to new ideals and beliefs seeking a higher enlightenment. As a result of people searching for the meaning of life or a higher power, religious cults became prevalent in American society in the 1970’s.

The Zodiac killer is one of the most infamous killers in American history. He murdered at least five people between the 1960s and 1970’s. His victims were often couples who were in secluded places around San Francisco. He received widespread media attention due to his habits of taunting the police and newspapers with coded messages. He signed his letters with his symbol, which was a circle with a plus sign over it. Although several suspects have been identified, the cases involving the zodiac killer have never been solved.

There have been many serial killers over the years, one in fact is a man named Jeffrey Dahmer.

The aftermath of a school shooting is tragic, depressing, and causes hatred for the lives lost and the person who took them. Everyone, especially the media, tries to interpret why the shooter killed their victims, or why they felt the need to end others’ lives and their own. How We All Miss the Point on School Shootings, by Mark Manson, explains what and why these mass shootings happen. He starts by using examples of shootings and the murderer’s past. This article has great viewpoints, use of argumentative reasoning, and shows what truly happens in the hallways of a school shooting.

Ted Bundy was a notorious serial murderer who’s reign of terror lasted from 1974 to 1978. Bundy was convicted of three homicides and was sentenced to death for all three charges. However, at the time of his execution, Bundy confessed to 30 murders however the exact number of victims is still unknown. Bundy’s crimes evolved over time but he was both a sexual sadist and a necrophiliac serial killer. At the beginning of his rampage, Bundy would sneak into the victims house in the middle of the night, violently attack them while they were sleeping with a blunt object and then Bundy would usually sexually assault them. However, as Bundy evolved, he utilized several different ruses (such as being injured or as an officer of the law) to lure the

It 's not easy being a cult leader. Having the ability to sway and entire audience is a difficult task that most are unable accomplish. For a Demagogue however, this task is simple. Demagogues have the ability to persuade an audience by using stereotyping and taking away the voices and democracy of their followers. Through Patricia Roberts-Miller 's lens, we get an inside look on the strategies that demagogues use to persuade their audience. While demagogues have a tendency to be primarily politicians, some are not. Charles Manson is an example of a demagogue who used his speeches to create a large, cult following. Manson developed a following with his "helter skelter" cult which focused on racial tension between blacks and whites. Through the specific lens of Roberts Miller and his personal definition of demagoguery, Charles Manson uses the specific traits of a demagogue in his speech to the court such as in-group and outgroup, God and Devil terms, and Denial of Responsibility. In this paper I will be using the lens of Roberts-Miller to analyze the demagogic elements of Charles Manson 's speech, including in-group/outgroup, god/devil terms, motivism and denial of responsibility

During the 1920s multiple criminal activities were taking place and the majority of illegal activity was due to the eighteenth amendment which prohibited the selling and manufacture of alcohol. Illegal activity that took place was bootlegging and the establishment of speakeasies. With criminal activity on the rise, a major criminal behind many illegal activities at the time was Al Capone. In addition, the Mafia rose with gambling, bootlegging, and illegal marketing.

A serial killer is defined as a “person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a “cooling off” period between each murder, which whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification.” (University, n.d) Many times serial murders go unsolved and other times it takes decades to unravel. According to the FBI there is no set profile of a serial killer, because they can come in all sizes, ages, shapes, colors and groups. (Welch, 2011) They tend to operate within their comfort zone, which is there area where they work, live or they have relative’s homes. (Roberts, 2011)

The late sixties and early seventies were mostly known as a time of overseas war and stateside flower power. Although for the Northern California communities, it was a time of fear and desperation. During this time a man, a psychopath really, was terrorizing the people with his deranged antics. This man was, and still is, one of the most well known and dangerous serial killers that the United States has ever produced. This man is the one and only infamous Zodiac Killer.

Charles Manson was born on November 12, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother was a single, 16-year-old alcoholic and prostitute. At a young age, Charles’ mother wanted nothing to do with him, so he lived on the streets which is where his life of crime began. For the first 32 years of his life, Manson was in jail for half of them. He had a wife and child, but they left him after he resumed stealing cars. Because of these rejections from his mother and wife, Manson became mentally unstable and constantly strove for some kind of love.

John Wayne Gacy is a serial killer who killed 33 people in total. He was born on May 17th 1942 in Chicago where he was physically and verbally abused by his father. Since this age he showed unusual behaviours and avoiding society, but then was determined that he has a psychological disorder.

From a young age Charles Manson experienced neglect from his mother and his father, often times being left alone to fend for himself. Charles had the ability to manipulate people even

Joseph Stalin is perhaps one of the most important and discussed people in Russian history. He was arguably a feared tyrant cursed and despised by many. At the same time, one finds sufficient evidence for the adoration and worship of Stalin that used to exist in the minds of the citizens of the Soviet Union. One reason for this worship was the existence of the so called ‘Cult of Personality’ where Stalin was celebrated as a wise leader, father of all people, and the architect of victory of the Second World War. In his book, The Stalin Cult: A Study in the Alchemy of Power, Jan Plamper states that Stalin’s cult of personality was largely a visual phenomenon. This statement formed the basis of this essay, which seeks to explore “To