A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900] 1

A Brief History of Socialism in America.†[Published January 1900]

1

Published in Social Democracy Red Book (Terre Haute, IN: Debs Publishing Co., 1900), pp. 1-75.

Introduction.

The history of Socialism in America, using theword socialism to embrace the various steps by whichenemies of the present social system have sought towork toward a final deliverance, seems to divide itselfinto seven quite clearly defined periods, as follows:

1. The earliest period, embraced between theyears 1776 and 1824, when the communistic venturesof the Shakers, Rappites, and Zoarites had the entirefield to themselves.

2. From 1825 to 1828, when Robert Owen madeAmerica the theater of his attempts to put his Utopiandreams into practice, by communistic experiments.

3. From 1841 to 1847, the period when Four-ierism swept over the country as a craze, leading to theestablishment of a great number of communities andphalanxes, all of them doomed to fail within a brieftime.

4. The period from 1847 to 1856, when Wil-helm Weitling was the moving spirit in trying to orga-nize systematic socialistic agitation. It was during thisperiod, also, that Cabet and his Icaria flourished andwaned.

5. From 1857 to 1888. This period of time seemsto have been devoted to the effort of immigrant So-cialists, particularly from Germany, to spread the te-nets of Socialism, more particularly of Social Democ-racy, but unfortunately, without getting the “Yankee”ear. It was during this period that the Socialist turnersocieties flourished.

6. From 1888 to 1897. This period may be des-

ignated as that in which the gestation of Socialism, asnative to American soil, was going on. It began withthe appearance of Gronlund’s book, The CooperativeCommonwealth, which was soon followed by Bellamy’sLooking Backward.

7. From 1897 down to the present time. Theperiod in which American Socialism having “chippedthe shell” first asserts itself as a force in American poli-tics through the formation of the Social Democracyof America, the Socialist Labor Party, by its trans-planted methods, having failed to reach the Americanear. Two factors which helped prepare the field for thenew party were the agitation work of Eugene V. Debsand the proselyting powers of Editor J.A. Wayland,successively of The Coming Nation and The Appeal toReason.

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Chapter 5 — The Pioneersof Scientific Socialism.

The steady influx of German immigrants fol-lowing the political disturbance of 1848 made it pos-sible as early as 1850 to found Turner societies in thiscountry, and it is an interesting fact to Socialists thatall these early Turner organizations were avowedly so-cialistic.

Their influence on the succeeding growth of theSocialist movement in America is hard to estimate, forthat growth was very slow. For years it seemed as if itwould never take root among the native Americans.

†- Although first published in January 1900 by the fledgling publishing house of Eugene Debs, this unsigned article is clearly notwritten in Debs’ inimitable style — not to mention that it is many times the length of the typical article written by the Terre Hautefirebrand. Ruling out Debs himself, internal evidence indicates the anonymous author was a delegate to the 1898 convention of theSocial Democracy in America who bolted that organization to help found the Social Democratic Party.

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900]2

This fear finally caused great anxiety among the lead-ers, and many of them lost heart because of it anddropped out of the fight.

As a matter of fact the Turners were not orga-nized as Socialists so much for propaganda on this sideof the ocean as they were for the purpose of supple-menting and encouraging the movement in Germany.It is true, however, that this condition wore off andthat the Turners did their share in trying to get Social-ism established on American soil.

The first Socialist Turn Verein convention washeld at Philadelphia, Oct. 5, 1850. Several societiessent delegates, among them Baltimore, Boston, NewYork, and Cincinnati, which were the strongest. Thename American Gymnastic Union of North Americawas chosen, but this was changed the following yearto the Socialistic Gymnastic Union. It had at that time17 local societies with large memberships. When thewar of the Rebellion broke out, most of the Turnerswent to the front to fight against negro slavery.

When the war was over the Turner Societies re-organized as the North American Gymnastic Union,and ceased to be distinctively Socialistic. In 1876 aSocialistic Turner Society and turn school existed inNew York City, but it had no influence with the othersocieties of the country. Many of the old Turners havebecome Republicans as a legacy of the war, while oth-ers have become large employers and grown conserva-tive by reason of their changed class interests.

In the spring of 1852, Joseph Weydemeyer, afriend of Karl Marx, began to disseminate the teach-ings of Marx and Engels as set forth in the Commu-nist Manifesto.

In order to do this the better, he began the pub-lication of a monthly magazine in the German lan-guage, which he called The Revolution. The first num-ber was especially notable through containing a spe-cially contributed article by Marx. The magazine couldnot well have been more short lived, as the secondnumber never made its appearance. Weydemeyer hadthe financial assistance of a German merchant namedH. Meyer, but the magazine was found too expensiveto continue. Weydemeyer was an engineer under Fre-mont during the war and built the fortifications roundSt. Louis. He died in that city.

In 1853 Weitling’s Arbeiter Bund dissolved, andfor several years thereafter the Socialists in New York

were unorganized.In 1857 a club of Communists was founded in

New York by German revolutionists of 1848. It didconsiderable propaganda work and on the followingyear arranged a memorial meeting in honor of the ParisJune revolution of 1848, with an attendance of 1,000men of various nationalities.

In 1865 enough followers of Lassalle were lo-cated in New York for an attempt at organization. Theywere not able to hold together, however, and did notsucceed until 3 years later.

In 1866 a congress of national labor organiza-tions was held in Baltimore and a Socialist delegatenamed E. Schlegel, who was elected vice president ofthe congress, made an unsuccessful effort to create apolitical labor party.

During the year following, several members ofthe club of Communists, together with some mem-bers of the labor organizations in New York and incoalition with a newly formed club of Lassallites, is-sued a call for a mass meeting for the purpose of start-ing a proletarian political party. The meeting was heldJan. 20, 1868, in the Germania assembly rooms in theBowery [New York City] and was well attended. Anorganization known as the Social Party was effectedand a platform adopted which embodied the principlesof the International of Marx, together with severalpositive demands for the laboring class.

During the following summer an address wassent to the central body of the International at Geneva,Switzerland, by the temporary Central Committee ofthe party, and signed by its president, F.A. Sorge.

During the same year the National Labor Union,which had previously held aloof from politics, recon-sidered the matter and formed the Labor Reform Party.The members of the Social Party did not wish to inany way obstruct this class-conscious action of the tradeorganizations and so ceased all agitation under theirparty name and gave the new movement all theirstrength. The result was that the new political partysent a delegate to the congress of the Internationalwhich was held that year at Basle, Switzerland. Thename of the delegate was A.C. Cameron. W.H. Sylvis,who served as one of the presidents of the Labor Re-form Party, was one of the hardest working Socialists.

In 1869 the Social Party took on new life andwas strengthened by an affiliation with the Interna-

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900] 3

tional through the London office. Soon the Interna-tional became international in fact, by the formationof sections in the various cities of the United States,which sections did a valuable work by keeping in closefellowship with the various labor unions.

During all this time the “respectable” people ofthe United States had increased their apprehension asto Socialism and Communism. The foreign news wasfull of lurid accounts of the “new social terror,” whichthe American capitalist editors took good care tosupplement with denunciatory and foreboding edito-rials. This “respectable” element breathed a little easierin 1870, when Judge Thomas Hughes, the ChristianSocialist and author of Tom Brown at Rugby and TomBrown at Oxford, made a lecture tour through the coun-try.

The year 1871 was notable for the arrival of anumber of French refugees, the Paris Commune hav-ing just been suppressed. These people “brought withthem a spirit of violence,” Prof. Ely says. During thisyear The Arbeiter Union was established, with the hon-ored Socialist and revolutionist, Dr. Adolph Douai, aseditor. The following year Victoria Woodhull, promi-nent among cognate lines, espoused the Internationaland Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly took on a socialisticflavor. Mrs. Woodhull Martin is now editress of TheHumanitarian of London, a magazine that numbersamong its contributors such notable Socialists as GrantAllen, E. Belfort Bax, Prof. Caesar Lombroso, BernardShaw, Prof. Alfred Russell Wallace, J.A. Hobson, andthe like.

The year 1872 was an important one for thecause in America for it witnessed the removal to NewYork of the headquarters of the Marx International.This came about in this way: There had been a grow-ing feeling between the two wings of the organization.On the one side were those who believed in the ballot,headed by Marx, on the other the followers of Baku-nin, who were Anarchists. It was felt that the Anar-chists must be got rid of at any cost and so the con-gress of the International for 1872 was held at TheHague, where Bakunin could not come from Switzer-land, because he would have to cross countries wherehe would be arrested. This gave the Marxists control,and to make their victory more lasting the headquar-ters was removed from London to New York. Baku-nin held a congress of his own at Geneva and thus two

Internationals took the place of one. By the removalof the headquarters to New York, the struggle betweenthe Socialists and the Anarchists reappeared on the newshore.

The first proclamation from the new headquar-ters was an appeal to workingmen to emancipated la-bor and to eradicate all national and international strife.The disastrous times of the following year helped itsagitators and it made no little headway. During 1872a socialist congress was held in New York with 22 sec-tions represented by delegates.

In 1874 the Socialists founded the Social Demo-cratic Workingmen’s Party at a convention held atPhiladelphia. A. Strasse, a cigarmaker and a represen-tative of the practical American labor movement, wasmade secretary. Two resolutions were passed; one tounite all Socialist groups in the country, and the otherto place the matter in the hands of the executiveofficers. Representatives of the United Workers, anEnglish-speaking organization and of the Internationalheld conferences and in 1876 succeeded in uniting onthe federative principle. A general labor conventionwas called, which was held at Pittsburgh. There were106 delegates, only 20 of whom were Socialists. Thelatter managed to dominate the convention, but themeeting was a failure and accomplished nothing.

This was in effect the end of the International.It had done wonders in getting the advancing labor-ing people out of the hands of the capitalistic politi-cians. It also caused several valuable papers to be pub-lished, the Verbote of Chicago and the Labor Standard,among others. It was helpful to the unions and keptthem in touch with the other trade organizations.

Later in 1876, another labor party was started,the Workingmen’s Party of the United States. It wassoon internally disturbed, the newcomers from Ger-many disagreeing with those of longer residence overtactics. The former wanted to follow on the same linesas the party in Germany. Many of the Marxists oflonger residence left the party, but the times were sobad that it nevertheless made considerable headway,especially as a result of the serious railway strikes of1877.

In 1876 J.P. Maguire, an excellent speaker, madea notable agitation tour of the country. Several paperssoon after began to exist, among them the ChicagoArbeiter Zeitung, founded by Paul Grottkau, Joseph

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900]4

Brucker’s Milwaukee Socialist, daily, and also an En-glish weekly a year later in Milwaukee, called TheEmancipator. In Chicago, Albert Parsons and G.A.Schilling were at the head of an English-speaking sec-tion.

In 1877 the Workingmen’s Party met at New-ark, NJ, abandoning the International, or what wasleft of it, to the Communistic Anarchists. The tradesunions had already left it.

At the Newark meeting the name of the partywas changed to the Socialistic Labor Party.

In 1877 the Socialists cast their lot with theGreenback Labor Party, owing to its advocacy of cer-tain labor reforms. This party got quite a vogue withlaborers and farmers, who were caught, some of them,by its “unlimited paper money” dream, while othersendorsed the spirit of the party. This was the forerun-ner of several similar parties including the late lamentedPeople’s Party, and was bitterly opposed to all silver aswell as gold money. In the November election in NewYork a vote of 1,365 was run up and considerable vot-ing strength was manifest all over the country for ayear or so. In 1877, also, a labor ticket in Cincinnatipolled 9,000 votes, but it fell back to 1,500 a yearlater. In 1879 four labor candidates in Chicago wereelected to the city council and the labor candidate formayor got 12,000 votes. Three men were elected tothe Illinois legislature, but they were in no sense class-conscious., In 1878 the labor candidate for governorof Ohio received 12,000 votes.

It was at about this time that the Anarchists be-gan to show strength. The line between Anarchismand Socialism was not at this time sharply drawn inthe Socialist organizations, in spite of the fact of theirbeing opposites. Both being critics and denouncers ofthe present system, however, they were able to worktogether.

As a result of the brutalities of the militia andregulars in the railway strikes of 1877, a new plan wasdevised by the Chicago agitators. This found expres-sion in the Lehr & Wehr Verein (teaching and defensesociety), an armed and drilled body of workmenpledged to protect the workers against the militia inthe case of a strike. But a Commune anniversary festi-val was held in 1879 in Chicago, and the Lehr & WehrVerein paraded. Instantly the capitalists were taken witha panic. The result was the prompt passage of a law

forbidding any company of men to drill or bear armswithout a state permit. A test was made of the consti-tutionality of this law, but both the state and the na-tional supreme courts considered it wise and upheldit. The arms-bearing tactics were opposed by the Ex-ecutive Committee of the SLP, the Secretary of whichwas Philip Van Patten. A fight ensured between theVerbote, which was the weekly edition of the ArbeiterZeitung of Chicago, and the Labor Bulletin, the officialparty organ, which Van Patten edited. Grottkau wasnot an Anarchist, but he had resented the assumptionof authority which the Executive Board displayed andhad given his support to the extreme wing, even be-coming a member personally of the Lehr & Wehr Verein.Matters led on till the SLP convention, held in NewYork in 1881, at which several members of the ex-treme wing were excluded because they did not ac-knowledge the “authority” of the party. The use of theword “authority” incensed some of the Anarchisticmembers and one section in New York rebelled andtried to start a more radical organization. One of theleaders was Justus Schwab, and an English monthlypaper was arranged for, called The Anarchist. The newparty was called the International Workingmen’s As-sociation.

In 1882 Johann Most, the Anarchist firebrand,came to this country and the Anarchists became moredominant than ever. Grottkau, however, realizing theway things were tending, began to occupy middleground. Things in Chicago were growing warm, andhe tried hard to bring back the former conditions. Inthe East matters were much the same and when theSLP convention met in 1883 at Baltimore, the Anar-chists were given the cold shoulder, it being decidednot to affiliate in any way with their organization,which had been perfected at Pittsburgh a month ear-lier in the year.

Grottkau was now thoroughly enlisted againstthe Anarchists, realizing that they were inimical to thetrue interests of the proletarian movement. He foughtvaliantly for his view of the matter and wrote and spokeardently, but the ground he had himself prepared wasagainst him. He held a notable debate with Most inwhich he had decidedly the best of the argument andachieved an intellectual and argumentative victory; butnot so thought the crowd, which was still filled withhis previous teachings. A few weeks later he was forced

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to retire from the Arbeiter Zeitung and to turn over theeditorial pen to August Spies, the former businessmanager and a man more to Most’s liking. Spies re-mained in that post and it brought him to the gallows— unjustly, as all honest men must admit — and thesame fate might possibly have come to Grottkau hadhe remained in charge.

The New Yorker Volkszeitung, the German So-cialist daily which was started in 1879, studiously ig-nored Most, because he had been expelled from theSocial Democratic Party in Germany. Not so the La-bor Bulletin. It tried to fight him, but failed, as Mostused ridicule for argument and was more agile thanhis opponent. Van Patten, the editor, finally gave upin disgust, taking refuge in a government job. He wasnot the only discouraged Socialist, for the movementduring the years 1880-85 was at a very low ebb.

And then came the memorable year 1886. Theagitation for an 8-hour workday, which Grottkau hadhelped start, had grown to large proportions. A uniteddemand was to be made May 1 for the change in hours.In Chicago the excitement was high. The McCormackreaper workers, where the men were out on strike, wasvisited by a crowd of excited people. There was a con-flict with the police and one of the rioters was shot. Ameeting of protest was held at the Haymarket [square]on the evening of May 4, about 350 Anarchists andlaborers being present. A.R. Parsons had finished speak-ing and Samuel Fielden was holding forth, when 7companies of police appeared and commanded thecrowd to disperse. Some unknown person threw abomb, which exploded with terrible effect, causing thedeath of 5 officers and wounding some 60 others.August Spies, A.R. Parsons, Louis Lingg, George Engel,Michael Schwab, Samuel Fielden, Adolph Fischer, andOscar Neebe were tried for the affair and the trial wassuch a travesty on justice that the Socialists put asidetheir feeling of hostility to the Anarchists and heldindignation meetings all over the country. Capitalismin Chicago had been long uneasy over the hystericalthreatenings of the Anarchists, both at their streetmeetings and at their halls. The police frequently brokeup their meetings and brutally clubbed the members.

The result was that the Anarchists were evenmore bitter toward the police than they were at thecapitalist system itself, and they use the most vengefuland threatening language, which the police and the

capitalistic newspapers were quick to give publicity to.The people of Chicago were whipped into a state ofterror by the newspapers and when once the leaders ofthe Anarchists were in the meshes of the law, capital-ism did a popular thing when it demanded their blood.Judge Gary plainly showed his anxiety that they shouldsuffer the death penalty, and men were admitted tothe jury who made no secret of their feeling towardthe men on trial. “Chicago Hangs Anarchists,” declaredthe capitalistic Chicago Tribune during the trail, and itsoon became clear that Anarchy was on trial and thata failure to prove the connection of the prisoners withthe mysterious bomb thrower would not stand in theway of hanging them. As to the bomb thrower, it wasquite clear that he was some fellow who had beenmoved to revenge himself on the police for their pastbrutalities. The upshot of the trial was that Spies, Fisch-er, Engel, and Parsons were hung. Lingg, who wouldalso have hung, committed suicide in his cell, or atleast it is claimed he did. Schwab, Fielden, and Neebewere sent to prison and afterward pardoned by Gov.Altgeld in a document showing the utter unfairness ofthe trial.

Nor was Chicago the only storm center of the8-hour agitation. In Milwaukee there was also riotingand the accompanying misrepresentation of the capi-talistic press, the inventive reporters making good useof the fact that many of the leaders spoke a foreigntongue. Thus Paul Grottkau, who was then editor ofthe Milwaukee Arbeiter Zeitung, made speeches to thecrowds, urging them, as a Socialist naturally would, togive up violence and redress their wrongs at the ballotbox. His attitude was misrepresented, his words falselytranslated, and he himself arrested as an instigator ofthe rioting. He was afterward found not guilty. AtMilwaukee, also, the militia was ordered out by thegovernor, and in a conflict near the rolling mills sev-eral Polish strikers were brutally shot down.

Naturally these labor disturbances had their ef-fect politically and in the fall election in Milwaukee anewly formed Union Labor Party, started by the moneyreformers, caught the labor vote and elected its entireticket. Most of the men elected turned out to be merepoliticians, however, and gave the city a disgracefuladministration. In other cities labor parties also sprungup and made considerable showing on election day.

In New York, where Henry George’s tax reform

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900]6

ideas had gotten many supporters, George was nomi-nated for mayor by the United Labor Party. The SLPunited with the new party and George polled 67,000votes.

In 1887, George, who was an Individualist, de-cided to throw the Socialists over, and at the Syracuseconvention, at which he was nominated for governor,the collectivists were summarily turned down. Theyorganized the Progressive Labor Party and cast 5,000votes. In 1888 they cast 2,500 votes, and the partygave up the ghost.

From 1888 to 1891 the SLP remained out ofpolitics. Lucien Sanial says that Socialism was never atso low an ebb in this country as in 1888, after thecollapse of the George movement and the hanging ofthe Chicago Anarchists. The latter occurrence, it maybe added, or rather, the Anarchist ascendancy in Chi-cago, did the cause lasting harm there, it having to thepresent day remained in the hands of the Anarchists,who have been able to some extent to thwart all ef-forts at successful Socialist lodgement.

Chapter 6 — The Gestationof American Socialism.

We now turn a bright page in the history of So-cialism in America, for at this point the clouds of de-spair and failure begin to lift and the sun or promiseand final triumph shines forth. As has been said, theearlier revolutionary Socialism was practically wipedout by the Civil War. After the war immigrants fromGermany and France made almost tireless efforts toreestablish it, but their agitations being carried on in aforeign tongue and of necessity among foreign resi-dents, the American people were not attracted by it,but on the contrary, their apprehension was only in-creased. Socialism was by them confounded with An-archism, and was believed to be synonymous withspoilation, incendiarism, and general disorder. Evenas late as 1887 an American party was organized atPhiladelphia for the purpose, among other things, ofexcluding from citizenship “anarchists, socialists andother dangerous characters!” Laurence Gronlund has saidthat in 1880 he could count the native born AmericanSocialists on the fingers of one hand. Had the foreignborn residents suddenly left the country they would

have practically taken Socialism with them. In 1880Judge Thomas Hughes, the Christian Socialist,founded a profit-sharing, semi-communistic colony atNew Rugby, in the Cumberland mountains of Ten-nessee, and delivered several lectures in the larger cit-ies. A year later this colony had nearly 300 membersand enjoyed a short-lived prosperity.

The American awakening to Socialism beganwith the appearance of Edward Bellamy’s Looking Back-ward in 1888, although in 1884 Laurence Gronlund’sCo-operative Commonwealth was the first book to placethe new theory before American readers in a popularway. This had a very fair sale and set many prominentmen to thinking along new lines — and among themprobably the novelist Edward Bellamy himself. Look-ing Backward was not at all scientific in its conceptionof Socialism or the probable Socialistic state, but itcame as a great message to the American people nev-ertheless, and its success was phenomenal. In the suc-ceeding few years over 600,000 copies were sold andfor a time it had a record of sales of over 1,000 a day.Still it must be noted that the word Socialism nowhereappeared in the book.

Bellamy and his converts at once organized clubs,which, with a cowardice that was perhaps justified,they called Nationalist clubs, and they persisted in call-ing their Socialism “Nationalism.” The first club wasformed in Boston, December 1, 1888, with CharlesE. Bowers as president. Others sprang up all over thecountry, at one time their numbers being recorded as162. Some went into politics, and one candidate inCalifornia polled 1,000 votes. In Rhode Island a Na-tionalist state ticket was put in the field. In May 1889,the Nationalist club of Boston began the publicationof The Nationalist magazine, and some idea of its liter-ary merits may be had from these names which wereamong its official list of contributors: Edward EverettHale, Mary A. Livermore, Col. Thomas WentworthHigginson, Jennie June, Helen Campbell, SylvesterBaxter, Henry Austin, and Laurence Gronlund. An-other contributor was Daniel DeLeon — this beinghis start in the Socialist movement, although he hadpreviously participated in the George agitation. In1891 Bellamy published a paper called The New Na-tion. In 1889 the Christian Socialists were also encour-aged to organize, the Rev. W.D.P. Bliss being the mov-ing spirit. Their party has never had more than a nomi-

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900] 7

nal existence. At about this time, too, the Knights ofLabor developed great strength, but its undoubtedlySocialistic tendencies were nullified by Grand MasterWorkman T.V. Powderly, who kept the members outof emancipatory political efforts. In later years he be-came a Republican politician and was given a snugberth at Washington as a reward for his previous “ser-vices.”

This year, 1889, was a notable one with the SLP.The meagre showing made by the Progressive LaborParty had not strengthened the standing of the dailyVolkszeitung with the advertising public, and it set it-self squarely against a continuance of distinct Socialistcandidates in succeeding elections. This raised a stormand the National Executive Committee declared forpolitical tactics. Great bitterness ensued, and the up-shot was that the committee was dispossessed by force.The party became split in twain, the Volkszeitungpeople, led by Alexander Jonas and Sergius Schevitsch,having 27 sections back of them, and the political ac-tion faction, led by W.L. Rosenberg, the National Sec-retary, having 23 small ones. The Jonas-Schevitsch-Sanial faction held its convention in Chicago Oct. 12,1889, and began what it called its “aggressive policy,”a policy which began as an uncompromising attitudetoward reforms and “confusionism,” but which devel-oped into boss-rule and a petty terrorism that drovethe better element from the party. Previously [Oct. 2,1889], the Rosenberg faction held its convention inChicago, also. Its official organ was the Volks Anwalt, apaper which is still publishing.

In spite of these troubles there was a sort of re-vival of activity in 1889, which was due undoubtedlyto the stimulus of Bellamy’s book. It practically savedthe SLP from extinction. The Sanial faction now had70 sections.

But there was an odd sequel to the split of 1889.The Sanial faction went back on its determination tokeep out of politics, and just one year later put up anSLP ticket. In Chicago in 1891 the two factions agreedto a temporary armistice and nominated Thomas J.Morgan for mayor. He got 2,500 votes.

In 1891 the Workingmen’s Advocate, which hadbeen published in New Haven, was moved to NewYork and its name changed to The People. Sanial’s eye-sight was failing and it was planned to make a berthfor DeLeon, who was regarded as a great acquisition

to the party. During this year Sanial was sent as a del-egate to the Brussels congress [Aug. 3-7, 1891].

In 1892 the New York faction put up a candi-date from President, a comrade named Wing, whoreceived 21,224 votes. In New York the party cast17,958 votes, 1,337 in New Jersey, 898 in Pennsylva-nia, 676 in Massachusetts, 333 in Connecticut, and22 in Florida.

In Cincinnati, in May, a National Reform Con-ference, the forerunner of the People’s Party, convened.The following year the People’s Party met at Omahaand adopted a semi-Socialistic platform — one, how-ever, that also contained a superabundance of errone-ous, middle class economics. During this year the fa-mous Homestead strike occurred, a strike whichshowed the wonderful powers of resistance of thehigher class of organized workmen, the AmalgamatedAssociation of Iron and Steel workers.

The efforts which were made in 1892 to reunitethe two SLP factions came to naught. At the conven-tion of the Sanial faction at Chicago in 1893, 113 sec-tions were reported, and Lucien Sanial was sent as adelegate to the Zurich conference [Aug. 9-13, 1893].The Rosenberg faction, although strong at the start,lacked this sustaining strength of a daily newspapersuch as the Volkszeitung, and its subsequent career wasuneven and showed a gradual loss of virility. It cameto be called the “traveling faction,” owing to its fre-quent change of headquarters. This “party on wheels,”as it was also dubbed, moved first to Cincinnati, thento Baltimore, then to Buffalo, then to Cincinnati again,then to Chicago, and finally to Cleveland. It thenchanged its name to the Social Democratic Federa-tion and kept up a merely nominal existence until1898, when it was merged into the then already exist-ing Social Democracy.

The year 1893 was notable in many ways.Bellamy’s New Nation suspended publication, but theYankeefying of Socialism was given an immense ad-vance by the founding of The Coming Nation at Greens-burg, Ind., by J.A. Wayland. It had a unique style andelements of popularity which began to run its circula-tion up by magic. Another notable fact was the found-ing of the American Railway Union by Eugene V. Debs,who showed his comprehension of the solidarity oflabor by originating this plan of superseding the vari-ous single craft organizations by one general, mutu-

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900]8

ally helpful and mutually protective one. His plan wasan unconscious contribution to the Socialist move-ment. Within one year, the ARU had won one of thegreatest railway strikes in the history of the Americanlabor movement — the Great Northern Railway strike.

The year 1894 began with the developing of theCoxey movement. Jacob S. Coxey was a well-to-dohorse breeder at Massillon, Ohio, who was a moneyreformer and who had devised a “non-interest bearingbond” scheme, which was warranted to bring on themillennium for the middle class, and, “of course,” beof great benefit to the working class in consequence.To draw attention away from the tariff agitation ofthe two capitalist parties, he originated a Commonwealarmy of the unemployed — a “petition in boots,” thatwas to march to Washington, DC, and demand relief.In the later part of March they started, 120 strong,and they were to get signatures en route for the bondand good roads schemes. They finally reached Wash-ington, but Capitalism dealt with them very easily —it arrested the leaders for walking on the grass! Otherarmies which started from various parts of the coun-try soon disbanded.

Interest in the Commonweal army had scarcelydied away when the memorable Pullman strike brokeout, followed by the almost complete tie-up of the rail-roads of the United States by the ARU. The first qua-drennial convention of the order was held at Chicagoin June [1894], the reports showing a membership ofover 150,000 men. At that time the strike of the un-fortunates at the “model” industrial town of Pullmanwas in force, it having begun May 11. The operativesthere were being paid scandalously low wages, yet wereheld it town by debts owning to the company for rent-als ($70,000 in all, George M. Pullman claimed!) whichthe masters refused to lowed to correspond with thatof surrounding property. The matter came before theARU convention and the Pullman company was askedto arbitrate the strike. It peremptorily refused, declar-ing that it did not propose to have any interferencewith its business operations and that there was “noth-ing to arbitrate.” After due negotiation, the ARU de-clared a boycott on Pullman cars, the members of theorganization throughout the country being ordered torefuse to move trains that had not cut off their Pull-mans, until the rights of the Pullman employees weregranted. True to their class feeling, the railroads re-

fused to cut off the Pullman coaches, and so a giganticbattle began.

It opened Tuesday noon, June 26 [1894]. Mr.Debs was in charge of the strike, assisted by SylvesterKeliher, the General Secretary, and the other officers.By sunset the first day the strike had been felt uponthe Illinois Central system and other lines as far westas St. Paul. On the second day 15 lines of railroadwere tied up, and 5,000 members of the union hadquit work. Traffic was paralyzed in Colorado, NewMexico, California, and on both Northern and South-ern Pacific systems. On the third day over 40,000 rail-roaders were out. The battle amazed everyone. Nei-ther passengers or freight could be carried on any ofthe important railroads west of Chicago, while theeastern lines were also crippled. All California andadjoining country was train-bound. Transportation hadbeen brought to an end. The power of the union wasmanifest, but the railway managers declared they wouldfight to the bitter end. A General Managers’ Associa-tion was formed on the fourth day to crush out theARU. The latter had kept within legal bounds, butthe railway magnates conceived the idea of calling thepower of the government to their aid. On the fifth dayJ.R. Sovereign, of the Knights of Labor, pledged thecooperation of his order. The strike was now felt inthe Gould system, the Union Pacific, the Monon, andelsewhere. The Illinois Central called on the authori-ties for help, claiming that its property at Cairo was indanger. Governor Altgeld sent three companies. La-bor organizations throughout the country began toswing in line. The general managers were desperate,for so long as they fought fairly they were out-generalled. Attorney General Olney and PresidentCleveland came to the rescue, however, by sendingGeneral Miles and regiment of regulars to Chicagowithout being requested to do so by Governor Alt-geld. The state officials declared this move to have beenunnecessary, and, in fact, unconstitutional. Public or-der had not been in danger, and the presence of theUS troops was looked on as a delicate attempt to in-flame the mob and incite it to disorder.

The general managers now boasted of success.On the seventh day, July 2, Judges Woods and Gross-cup, at Chicago, issued a sweeping omnibus injunc-tion and Debs and his associates were enjoined fromfurther prosecution of the boycott. On the tenth day

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900] 9

some of the sympathizers with the strikers became moreor less demonstrative and there were evidences thatthe railroad companies intended employing disguiseddetectives to incite the crowds on to overt acts in thehope of gaining public sympathy and thus hasteningan end to the tie-up. The tenth day witnessed so muchdisturbance that Gov. Altgeld was moved to telegraphthe President to withdraw the federal troops. The re-quest was denied. In California 5 companies of militiadeclared their sympathy with the strike. In ColoradoGov. Waite took sides with the strikers. A serious strainwas manifest at all points, although the ARU mem-bers used all precautions to prevent their cause beinghurt by violence. On the twelfth day there was blood-shed, two volleys being fired into a Chicago crowd ofsympathizers. The federal authorities now began totreat the strike as an insurrection. Later it leaked outthat they contemplated declaring martial law at Chi-cago, when it would have been an easy matter to takethe strike leaders to the lake front and shoot themdown.

Passing over the succeeding days, with their strainand turbulence, the shooting to kill by the regulars onthe thirteenth day, the firing into a crowd of men,women, and children at Hammond, Ind., the suspi-cious burning of freight cars, the partial resumptionof business on some few roads, with the help of theintimidation of the courts, the proclamations of theCapitalistic tool, Cleveland, we come to the fifteenthday, when Debs was arrested upon indictment by afederal grand jury. Two days later the labor leader pro-posed to the general manages, through the mayor ofChicago, to end the strike on condition that the union-ists be restored to their places, excepting those whomight have been proven guilty of illegal conduct. Thiswas contemptuously refused, and other measures weretried. By the 17th of July, traffic, after a fashion, hadbeen resumed on the railroads. On this day Debs,Keliher, and two other officers were imprisoned foralleged contempt of court. The next day the troopswere withdrawn from Chicago. On the 19th, 43 otherstrike participants were imprisoned, under excessivebail.

In September Debs and his fellow officials weretried, a jury being denied them, and nearly threemonths later Judge Woods sentenced Debs to 6 monthsand his lieutenants to 3 months in Woodstock jail.

The case was carried to the Supreme Court, whichsustained the lower court. The imprisonment beganin May 1895. The trial of Debs had been a travesty ofjustice, as Capitalism succeeded in saving the generalmanagers from being brought into court, so that itcould be shown who really broke the law and destroyedproperty. Out of this came Debs’ famous aphorism:“Government by Injunction.”

But let us get back to the Socialist movementitself. At about the time these stirring scenes were be-ing enacted, J.A. Wayland was perfecting plans to be-gin a communistic experiment near Tennessee City,Tenn., a domain of 1,000 acres being secured there.The wonderful growth of his paper encouraged himto make the attempt. The colony was begun in July[1894], a modern perfecting printing press and outfitbeing moved down into the woods. Of course therewere many eager to join, and the result was what mightbe expected. There was little real harmony. It was aneye-opener for the Socialist editor, and in less than ayear later he withdrew, leaving the press, paper, andother things behind him. The colony continued thepublication of the paper and thus continued to makemany converts to abstract Socialism, althoughWayland’s editorials were missed from its columns.

In 1895 the Rev. W.D.P. Bliss organized anAmerican Fabian Society at Boston. It began a paper,The American Fabian, calculated to interest a certainclass in Socialism. In SLP circles the year was markedby a clash between the New York People and the St.Louis Labor, edited and published by Gustave Hoehnand Albert Sanderson. Labor was printed in many edi-tions for various localities, with its name slightly al-tered to give it a local look. It had been authorized bythe Chicago convention of [July] 1893, but the “ag-gressive” policy of the “powers that be” in the partymeant to maintain control of the party press, and whenLabor seemed to be a dangerous rival to The People, aquarrel was started which ultimately, it is claimed,caused the discontinuance of the Socialist newspaperunion at St. Louis, and Labor as well. In August 1895,Mr. Wayland reestablished himself at Kansas City andbegan the publication of The Appeal to Reason, mov-ing later to Girard, Kansas, where rents are lower. Hispaper at once achieved a large circulation and has con-tinued to grow in influence until today it has over80,000 paid subscribers and is increasing the Socialist

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900]10

strength as it has never increased before.In November of this same year Debs’ imprison-

ment at Woodstock came to an end and a multitudeof admirers assembled to escort him back to Chicago.The ovation given him was most remarkable and itculminated in a monster meeting at Central MusicHall, at which his famous speech on “Liberty” wasdelivered, and the world at large began for the firsttime to realize his practical conversion to Socialism.On the stage were several Socialists. During his incar-ceration Debs had read all the Socialistic works senthim and thus prepared himself for the work that heintended taking up when his time had been served.

The 9th Convention of the SLP was held at NewYork, July 4-10, 1896. There were 94 delegates present.State organization was reported in California, Con-necticut, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hamp-shire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, andRhode Island. The sections numbered 200. CharlesH. Matchett was nominated for the Presidency andMathew Maguire for the Vice Presidency, and a plat-form was adopted. Perhaps the most notable piece oflegislation undertaken by the convention, in the lightof subsequent developments, was the endorsement ofthe newly started Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance.This was done by resolution, which declared amongother things that the AF of L and the K of L had “fallenhopelessly into the hands of dishonest and ignorantleaders.” It is doubtful if any of the 71 members whovoted for this measure realized the injury it was des-tined to work to Socialist propaganda or to the stand-ing of the SLP among American workingmen. Thisnew trade organization was started by Daniel DeLeon,after he had failed to control the Knights of Labor.Following the New York convention the leaders of theSLP began an indiscriminate campaign of vilificationagainst non-Socialist labor leaders, which grew in bit-terness year by year and made enemies for Socialismof many well-meaning laboring men.

The unattached, or independent, socialists re-mained with the People’s Party up to the time of itsnational convention in St. Louis in 1896. When thatconvention threw over its Socialistic leanings and cameout for the free silver craze, the Socialists gave up hopeof carrying on further propaganda within the partyand severed their connection with it. One of the del-egates to the St. Louis convention was Victor L. Ber-

ger of Milwaukee, who helped straightaway to orga-nize a boom there for Mr. Debs for President. TheChicago convention of the Democratic Party had comeout for free silver and nominated Bryan and the plu-tocratic Sewell. The Populists were willing to endorseBryan, but they could not go Sewell. The middle-of-the-road men succeeded in reversing the order of nomi-nations so that a candidate for Vice President was se-lected first, Sewell was “rolled” and Thomas E. Watsonof Georgia chosen. Meantime the Debs forces workedlike beavers. They secured 412 written pledges out ofa total of 1,300 delegates, and Congressman Howardagreed to make the nomination speech. It was evenclaimed by a local paper that 22 states were in line forDebs, with 16 of them pledged. On the evening onwhich it was expected a nomination would be made,Debs’ stock was high and the Bryan shouters began totalk compromise. Mr. Debs’ forces were asked if theywould be satisfied with second place on the ticket.There is no knowing what might have happened byfor a trick of the Bryanites, who turned off the gas andforced an adjournment till morning. In the morningHenry D. Lloyd read a telegram to the conventionfrom Mr. Debs (who had all along insisted that he didnot want a nomination), asking that his name be with-drawn. Bryan was then nominated.

In the 1896 Presidential election, the SLP can-didates, Matchett and Maguire, polled 36,564 votes,among these being the ballots of the independent So-cialists.

Chapter 7 — Social Democracy.

Social Democracy is but another term for demo-cratic Socialism. In this sketch of the development ofthe Socialist movement in America, we have seen firstthe Utopian forms of Socialism, Communistic Social-ism, and finally, in the Socialist Labor Party, a kind ofSocialism, or rather of Socialistic propaganda, in whicha hierarchy ruled, and which, besides heresy-huntingamong its own members, instinctively stood for a So-cialist state in which the administration of affairswould, to say the least, be bureaucratic. Such an ad-ministration would be quite apt to develop into a des-potism. Presented in such a spirit, Socialism had littleattraction for the Yankee lover of freedom, and so it

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900] 11

had to make way historically for a truly democratictype — for a party standing for social democracy. Theparty which had this mission to perform was formedduring 1897, reconstructed the following year, and istoday the leading Socialist party in the United States,while the Socialist Labor Party, autocratic and boss-ridden, is split in twain and poisoned unto death byits own virus. Its mission is past and its demise willnot be mourned.†

On January 2, 1897, Eugene V. Debs issued acard to the Associated Press, announcing his conver-sion to Socialism, and his conviction that, apart frompolitical action, trade unionism was inadequate to ac-complish the emancipation of the working class. Heshowed the fallacy of free silver or mere money re-form, and said that the issue was between Capitalismand Socialism, and that from thenceforth his laborswould be in the Socialist ranks. This practically com-mitted the ARU to Socialism. Mr. Debs, however, didnot join the SLP, but was in correspondence with sev-eral independent Socialists who believed the SLP toohopelessly narrow and boss-ridden to ever achieve suc-cess in the United States, and who tried to enlist hissympathy toward starting a new clear-cut party, stand-ing for democratic rather than autocratic Socialism.For the time being nothing came of these negotiations.

These independent Socialists were stronger andmore active in Milwaukee than anywhere else, werelocally organized into a Social Democratishcer Verein,and had the added strength of a daily Socialist news-paper in the Germany language, edited by Victor L.Berger. This paper, the Vorwärts, had the distinctionof being the oldest established Socialist daily in theUnited States, but had in its earlier days weatheredbrief periods of suspended animation and on two oc-casions a change of name. The Milwaukee indepen-dents had kept up their organization for years, suc-

†- The reference to a “split in twain” SLP refers to the 1899 party split, in which an insurgency around the New Yorker Volkszeitung —antagonistic to the dual unionism of the ST&LA and personally hostile to The People editor Daniel DeLeon and the SLP’s leadershipcorps — attempted by means of special meetings and the use of the recall to win control of the party apparatus. This insurgent RightWing made use of a somewhat dubious party legality which led the regular Left Wing to hurl the disparaging moniker “Kangaroos”at their rivals, a phrase borrowed from the steamroller “kangaroo courts” of the old west. The so-called “Kangaroos,” including amongtheir ranks such luminaries as Henry Slobodin, Morris Hillquit, and Algernon Lee, held their own “10th SLP Convention” from Jan.27-Feb. 2, 1900 in Rochester, New York. After a bit of convoluted factional maneuvering over the next 18 months, this insurgent SLPRight Wing merged with the Social Democratic Party at a “Socialist Unity Convention” beginning July 29, 1901 in Indianapolis, agathering which established the Socialist Party of America. The regular (so-called “DeLeonist”) SLP Left Wing held their own 10thConvention in New York City, June 2-8, 1900. Both the Socialist Labor Party and the Socialist Party maintained organizationalcontinuity throughout the entire 20th Century and into the 21st, albeit at an extremely atrophied level.

cessfully standing the onslaught of the SLP andconfidently expecting that the time must soon comewhen a national American party, having like aims,would make its appearance and crowd the unworthySLP from the field. The verein was made up in part ofold SLP men, and they were most of them not onlytrade unionists, but leaders in their respective unions.Among them were the editor of the Vorwärts, JohnDorfler, Jacob Hunger, Joseph Roesch (who had beena personal convert of Weitling), George Moerschal,Charles Dipple, Ernest Kuehnel, and others. Latterlythey made up a wing of the local People’s Party, not asPopulists, but as recognized Socialists. In this way theymade propaganda and made some valuable converts.

At about this time a Brotherhood of the Coop-erative Commonwealth was organized through TheComing Nation and Mr. Debs was made its organizer.It had a rather Utopian scheme of planting colonies insome western state with a view to the political captureof the state. The members of the ARU finally decidedto merge that organization into the B of the CC, anda convention of the two was called at Chicago, June18, 1897.

The denouement was quite unexpected to therank and file of both the ARU and the B of the CC,for it was nothing less than the launching of a nationalpolitical, Socialist party, with the colonization schemerelegated to the rear. This was the result of work onthe part of several scientific Socialists, headed by Vic-tor L. Berger. The work of perfecting the organizationwas done in a committee which met evenings, duringthe convention, at McCoy’s Hotel. In this committee,besides Messrs. Debs, Keliher, and the ARU officers,were Victor L. Berger, Jesse Cox, Seymour Stedman,Charles R. Martin, and Frederic Heath. Messrs. Ber-ger and Heath, owing to business demands, were forcedto be at their home, Milwaukee, during the daytime,

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900]12

and so made the trip to Chicago every evening duringthe week, and returning on an early train each morn-ing — a round trip of some 170 miles.

A clear-cut Socialistic platform and constitutionwere adopted and these were promptly accepted bythe convention. The National Executive Board cho-sen was composed of the old ARU officers: E.V. Debs,James Hogan, Sylvester Keliher, R.M. Goodwin, andWilliam E. Burns — the “five prisoners of Woodstock.”Headquarters were established at 504 Trude Buildingin Chicago, and Mr. Debs’ old Railway Times removedthither and rechristened The Social Democrat. The firstissue appeared July 15th, a 4-page form, 6 columns tothe page. During this time the Capitalist press hadbeen rather friendly to the movement, mistaking itstrue significance. The colonization plan, which wassupposed to be the main object, was looked on withfavor; for Capitalism, unable itself to deal with its morsembarrassing class of victims, the unemployed, wouldbe pleased, indeed, to have that class enticed away tosome colony in the wilderness, thus being relieved ofthe burden of its support. But a concerted march tothe polls by the proletariat was quite a different mat-ter, and the newspapers soon changed their attitude toone of apprehension and attack.

The Social Democracy began at once a vigor-ous campaign, being badgered in various ways by theless orderly members of the SLP. Mr. Debs made hisfirst speech for the new party at Milwaukee July 7[1897]. He had a monster audience, and a few eve-nings later the first Wisconsin branch was formed. Butloud calls were now coming from the great miners’strike in West Virginia, and he hurried to the coal fieldsand gave the strikers the benefit of his counsel. Whilespeaking bareheaded at noonday near a mining camp,he was overcome by the heat, the effects of the sun-stroke being with him all summer, and obliging himto cancel various engagements. The other members ofthe Executive Board visited various parts of the coun-try on organizing tours and made good headway.

The Social Democrat appeared promptly eachweek. The first issue contained congratulations fromthe veteran labor leader, John Swinton, from LaurenceGronlund, and also from a committee of St. Louisministers headed by H.G. Vrooman. The second issueannounce the formation of branches in 16 states andalso the conversion of the North Side Populist Club

of New York City, which joined in a body. All over thecountry, well know Socialists who had not been ableto agree with the tactics and spirit of the SLP took upthe cause of the new party, and in New York an entireJewish district organization of the SLP voted to joinoutright.

The third number announced the appointmentof the colonization commission, the appointees beingRichard J. Hinton of Washington, DC, W.P. Borlandof Michigan, and Cyrus F. Willard of Boston. Thecolonization scheme now became a bone of conten-tion, a good many members being decidedly opposedto it. This feeling grew as the importance of the colo-nization feature increased in the party work and it wasevident that it would sooner or later lead to an almostopen rupture. One phase of it was peculiarly distress-ing. It gave Anarchists an opportunity to take activepart in the party work and to voice their sentiments atmeetings and in the party press. Thus, shortly afterthe party was established, Johann Most, in his Frei-heit, advised his readers to join, and other Anarchistpapers appeared friendly. And so the colonizationscheme was approved by the Utopian Socialists andthe Communistic Anarchists within the party, andopposed by the scientific Socialists. The colonizationcommission itself increased the feeling by ignoring theparty’s recorded intention and went about the coun-try examining various properties. Among the places itvisited were Tennessee, Colorado, New York, Wash-ington, and Idaho. At one time it had even offered toundertake the building of a railroad in Kentucky.

In its attitude toward the organized labor move-ment the party was at all times consistent. At a laborconference, held at St. Louis to discuss the miners’strike, in the latter part of August [1897], members ofthe party took a leading part, Mr. Debs being one ofthe signers of the call, and the resolutions passed bythe body being drafted by two members of the party,Victor L. Berger and G.C. Clemens of Kansas. In thefall of the year Mr. Debs made a tour of the East, hold-ing big meetings everywhere. In January he wentthrough the South. In March Messrs. Debs and Keliherwent together through the East and one of the resultsof the tour was the decision of two large sections atHaverhill, Mass., to join the Social Democracy. Withthem came James F. Carey, whom they had previouslyelected to the city council.

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900] 13

In February [1898] the Social Democracy be-gan its first political battle. At Milwaukee, which wasone of its strongholds, a convention was held on Feb-ruary 1, and a complete city ticket nominated. It washeaded by Robert Meister, a machinist, as candidatefor mayor, and a strong local platform was adopted.The Milwaukee campaign, which was vigorouslywaged, was looked on with great interest by the mem-bers of the party, who helped in such ways as was pos-sible. The labor unions assisted in the campaign and itwas partially through their contributions that the lo-cal managers were able to bring Paul Grottkau fromCalifornia to make addresses in German. His tellingspeeches were a feature of the canvass. Addresses inEnglish were made by Mr. Debs, Jesse Cox, SeymourStedman, and others. When the votes were counted itwas found that the Social Democracy had cast over2,500 votes, while the long-established SLP only man-aged to get 423 into the ballot boxes.

At Sheboygan, Wis., the Social Democracyelected two aldermen, Fred Haack in the 5th Ward,on a vote of 171, and Oscar Mohr in the 7th Ward, ona vote of 106. In Richmond, Ind., where a ticket wasalso put up, the candidate for mayor received 89 votes.

The elections over, attention was again attractedto the party’s incubus, the colonization plan, and asthe date of the June convention of the party ap-proached, the feeling against it was more marked andoutspoken. Utopian and fantastic, the colony idea drewsupport from gullible people from all classes and notrouble was experienced in getting contributions forit. It appealed to the romantic instinct and RobertOwen himself could not have enlisted people any morereadily. By March the colony fund reached $1,419.01.In April it was $2,289.38. All this time the commis-sion was moving about mysteriously. Finally, in May,it announced that the party would establish coloniesin Tennessee, Washington, and Colorado, as a part ofa gigantic plan to be announced in the future. Justbefore the convention, word was given out that thecolony would be established in Colorado, in theCripple Creek region. The commission had beencaught by a gold-brick promoter! At about the sametime it was announced in the Social Democrat thatSecretary Willard had gone to Denver and closed acontract by which the party was to get 560 acres, onwhich was a gold mine of “the deeper you go, the richer

the ore” variety! He had arranged to pay $3,000 in 60days, $2,000 in 90 days, and to give the owners$95,000 in 5% bonds, and for the balance to issue$200,000 in first mortgage bonds, those of the own-ers to be a part thereof. “Then if we sold the entireamount of bonds,” said the commission, “we wouldhave $100,000 after paying for the property, and coulduse, say $25,000, to develop the mine and the balanceto establish the colony. Who will get bond no. 1?” (!)

The national convention was opened Tuesdaymorning, June 7th, at 9 o’clock, in Uhlich’s hall onNorth Clark Street, Chicago. This is an historic hall,having been the birthplace of the ARU, as well as theplace in which the great strike of 1894 was declared.There were 70 delegates, representing 94 branches,present. Chairman Debs presided. Outwardly themeeting presented the picture of a pleasing and har-monious gathering, creditable to the Socialist move-ment. Under the surface, however, there was a hostil-ity that meant almost certain rupture. The presence ofsuch well-known Anarchists as Mrs. Lucy Parsons, wifeof one of the victims of the outrageous Haymarkettrial, Emma Goldman, common-law wife of Berkman,who shot Manager Frick at the time of the Home-stead strike, and others, all enlisted under the coloni-zation wing, the members of which were now usingthe phrases of the Anarchists at sneering at politicalaction, showed that a parting of the ways must come.It rapidly developed that the colonization forces hadorganized to get control of the convention and hadeven gone to the length of organizing local “brancheson paper” within three days before the convention, inorder to increase its list of delegates and make its con-trol a certainty. These branches had been organized byWilliam Burns and the other members of the NationalBoard, with the exception of Messrs. Debs and Keliher.When the convention had come to order, and after acredential committee had been elected consisting of J.Finn of Chicago, J.C. DeArmand of Colorado, andW.L. Johnson of Kansas, Secretary Keliher announcedto the convention that 11 branches in Chicago hadbeen organized under such suspicious circumstancesthat he had withheld charters from them, preferringthat the matter be dealt with by the convention itself.He was convinced, he said, that they were organizedsolely for the purpose of packing the convention, andthat they had no existence in fact. This caused some

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900]14

turbulence and when the credential committee re-ported in favor of admitting the “fake” branches, theexcitement increased, the debate lasting all day. In theevening the majority of the National Board met andgranted charters to the 8 branches, the delegates ofwhich were seated next morning.

A Committee on Rules was elected, consistingof C.F. Willard of Chicago, Isaiah Frank of New York,and Frederic Heath of Milwaukee. The other com-mittees were as follows: On Resolutions: FredericHeath of Milwaukee, A.S. Edwards of Ruskin, Ten-nessee, and J.S. Ingalls of Chicago. On Constitution:Isaiah Frank of New York, L.L. Hopkins of New Jer-sey, and W.P. Borland of Michigan. On Ways & Means:F.G.R. Gordon of New Hampshire, George Koop ofChicago, and Jacob Hunger of Milwaukee. On Orga-nized Labor: G.A. Hoehn of St. Louis, Hugo Miller of

Indianapolis, andJoseph Barondessof New York. OnOfficers’ Reports:William Butscherof New York, T.Phillips of NewYork, and AnnaFerry Smith ofCalifornia. OnPlatform: John F.Lloyd, Victor L.Berger, and Mar-garet Haile. Au-diting: W. Win-

chevsky of New York, J. Grundy of Pittsburgh, andSeymour Stedman of Chicago. President Debs, Mar-garet Haile, and C.F. Willard were appointed to draftresolutions on the death of Edward Bellamy, to be tele-graphed to a memorial meeting being held in Boston.The message sent was as follows:

The first national convention of the Social Democracyof America pays tribute to the memory of Edward Bellamy,first to popularize the ideas of Socialism among hiscountrymen and last to be forgotten by them.

At the close of the second day, when scarcelyanything had been done, save talk, it became apparentthat the “gold brick” faction, as it was called, was try-ing to prolong discussion so that those from a dis-

tance would have to leave before the convention wasconcluded. This would give them a clear coast, as theirstrength was mainly local and made up in no smallparty by Chicago Anarchists, who had come in bymeans of the “fake” locals. More and more it dawnedon the Socialists that they were pitted against a con-spiracy that would hesitate at no desperate move tomaintain its supremacy. On the third day, Thursday[June 9, 1898], National Committeeman Hogan madesweeping charges against Secretary Keliher, evidentlywith the intention of prolonging the “do-nothing” tac-tics. The charges were afterward found to have no foun-dation in fact.

C.F. Willard read the report of the ColonizationCommission and the facts it presented only increasedthe determination of the antis to sever all connectionand responsibility with the affair. To put it mildly, theyfelt that the party had been engaged in securing moneyon false pretenses. In the evening the antis held a cau-cus and resolved to fight colonization uncompromis-ingly.

During the early hours of Thursday ChairmanDebs made his report. It showed that on his Easterntours he had addressed 143 public meetings in 77 days.Secretary Keliher’s report showed that the total receiptsfor the year were $8,965.88. Disbursements,$8,894.44.

On Friday [June 10] afternoon the Committeeon Platform reported, Committeeman Lloyd submit-ting a minority report in the interests of the “gold-brick” faction. A protracted and animated debate fol-lowed. The feeling ran high. The anti-colonizationpeople were incensed at the way in which the time ofthe convention had been frittered away, and were,moreover, without hope of wresting the control fromthe hands of their opponents. It was finally decided todebate the platforms to a finish and then permit a voteupon them. Afterwards they would quietly abandonthe convention and organize a new party. The debatelasted until 2:30 o’clock in the morning, and a votewas taken on the minority report. It resulted in 53 forand 37 against. There was an exultant yell from the“goldbrick” faction, but their joy turned to uneasinesswhen those of the opposition were seen quietly leav-ing the hall after a motion to adjourn had been car-ried.

Across North Clark Street was the Revere house,

Margaret Haile

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900] 15

where most of the delegates stayed, and where the anti-colonization faction had held its caucus the eveningbefore. Thither they went and soon assembled in Par-lor A. A strange coincidence it was, but it was in thisvery room that the jury that hung the Anarchists cameto their bloodthirsty decision! It was a sort of retribu-tion which made that room also the birthplace of the

coming great national party of Revolutionary Social-ism. Everyone present was alive to the importance ofthe step, and the proceedings were carried on withdespatch and in as subdued voices as possible, so asnot to disturb the guests of the hotel. Frederic Heathwas made Chairman and F.G.R. Gordon Secretary. Theplatform reported by the majority of the committeein the Uhlich Hall convention was adopted, the name“Social Democratic Party of America” chosen, a tem-porary National Committee, composed of thosepresent, constituted, and an address to the member-ship of the Social Democracy ordered prepared. Themeeting adjourned at 4 o’clock, just as the rays of abright sunrise began to bathe the window panes.

Later in the day, the delegates reconvened at HullHouse, on South Halsted Street. Jesse Cox presidedand William Mailly acted as secretary. The followingNational Executive Board was elected: Jesse Cox, Sey-

mour Stedman, Eugene V. Debs, Victor L. Berger, andFrederic Heath. Resolutions on the death of EdwardBellamy and Paul Grottkau were passed and the reso-lutions on organized labor, drafted by Messrs. Hoehn,Miller, and Barondess, reenacted. A.S. Edwards wasmade National Organizer and Jacob Winnen made atender of the affiliation of the Social Democratic Fed-eration, which was favorably listened to and the mem-bers received into full membership.

Shortly after the convention, the National Boardmet in Chicago and revised the platform. A constitu-tion was prepared and an address drawn up. This lat-ter, which stated the facts regarding the split, wasmailed to all members of the old Social Democracy.The circular also announced the opening of headquar-ters in Chicago and the appointment of Theodore Debsas National Secretary and Treasurer. The motto of theparty was stated as: Pure Socialism and no compro-mise.

Meantime those left in the Uhlich Hall conven-tion adopted the Lloyd platform and elected the fol-lowing National Committee: James Hogan, W.P.Borland, R.M. Goodwin, John F. Lloyd, L.L. Hop-kins, I. Frank, C.F. Willard, R.J. Hinton, and G.C.Clemens. They became a colonization party, pure andsimple. Being in possession of the National Headquar-ters and the official organ, they were able to make ashowing for a few weeks, but the fact that their strengthwas local soon began to tell, and with the third issuedunder their charge the Social Democrat succumbed. Afourth issue was in type, but the printer demandedcash in advance. Their only hope was to actually colo-nize. In August [1898] Messrs. Willard and Ingalls wentprospecting and finally found a location at the head ofHenderson Bay in the state of Washington. A numberof members began the pioneer work and in time acolony was in full swing, nourished and cheered bymoney paid in by nonresident members for the pur-chase of shares. The colony is still in existence [Jan.1900], with 110 members, and a little paper, The Co-operator, is published each week. In the state of Wash-ington, also, is the Equality colony of the old Brother-hood of the Cooperative Commonwealth. It is locatedat Edison, and has had a hard time of it. N.W.Lermond, its leading spirit, is no longer with it. Itsmembers live in log houses and have not had timethus far to even think of the old dream of capturing

A.S. Edwards

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900]16

the state of Washington through the ballot.On July 9 [1898], the Social Democratic Party

issued the first number of The Social Democratic Her-ald. It was of 4 pages, 4 columns to the page. A.S.Edwards was editor. The third issue announced theselection of a national headquarters at room 56, 126Washington Street, Chicago, directly opposite the cityhall. The paper was issued under the most trying cir-cumstances, the split having disheartened many So-cialists, so that the party grew very slowly. It was notuntil fully a year after that real headway began to bemade, outside of a few party strongholds like Massa-chusetts, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. In November theplace of publication was changed to Belleville, Ill., as ameasure of economy. It remained there until June ofthe following year (1899), when it was brought backto Chicago and issued in larger page form — 5 col-umns instead of 4.

In spite of the setback the movement had re-ceived, the party went into the fall campaign at severalpoints. In Wisconsin a full state ticket, headed byHoward Tuttle of Milwaukee for Governor, was nomi-nated. The Massachusetts members nominatedWinfield P. Porter of Newburyport. In New Hamp-shire, Sumner F. Clafllin was at the head of the ticket.Nominations were made in 5 assembly districts in NewYork. Missouri nominated Albert E. Sanderson forjudge of the Supreme Court and made several con-gressional nominations, and a local ticket was put upat Terre Haute, Ind.

In its issue of Saturday, November 12, the Her-ald brought the glad tidings of victory in Massachu-setts — the election of two members of the state legis-lature from the Haverhill district: James F. Carey andLewis M. Scates. Mr. Debs had helped in the cam-paign there and had had a record-breaking meeting,with an overflow. The party made a good showing inthe other states where there were candidates. In Wis-consin it had more than twice as many votes as theSLP, and the same was the case in St. Louis, a formerSLP stronghold.

Scarcely had the joy over the Massachusetts vic-tory died away than that state presented the party withanother surprise. On December 6th the Social Demo-crats of Haverhill succeeded in electing John C. Chase,mayor; Charles H. Bradley and J.W. Bean, aldermen;Joseph Bellefeuille, James W. Hillsgrove, and Albert

L. Gillen, councilmen; Newman W. Wasson, schoolcommissioner; and Frank S. Reed, assistant assessor.

In December, members of the Social DemocraticParty created quite a stir by making Socialism an issueat the convention at Kansas City of the American Fed-eration of Labor. Thetrades unions ofEngland hadcome out forSocialism asthe wagew o r k e r s ’only hope,and whilethere wasno reasonto believethat thes u c c e s scould be hadall at once inthe AF of L, ow-ing to the oldparty predilections ofcertain of its most influential leaders, yet a beginningcould be made — in fact a beginning had been madein former of the federation conventions. Among thosewho went to Kansas City were James F. Carey of Hav-erhill, William Mahon of Detroit, John Tobin of Bos-ton, Victor L. Berger, and Seymour Stedman. The SLPwas represented among others by editor Max Hayes ofCleveland. The result was that an interesting debatewas precipitated which was duly telegraphed to thedaily papers all over the country and which caused agood deal of talk in union circles. The vote takenshowed more strength than the Socialists were sup-posed to have in the body — 493 for the Socialisticresolution to 1,971 against.

In the spring election of 1899, a local ticket wasput up in Chicago, with Thomas G. Kerwin at thehead. At Spring Valley, Ill., the Socialist miners alsoput up a local ticket. Their candidate for mayor wasJames Beattie. At Pacific, Wis., a local ticket was nomi-nated, and nominations were also made at St. Louisand Baltimore. And out of this came a victory, too,the party ticket at Pacific making a clean sweep.

In June 1899, the Socialist Party of America, an

James F. Carey

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900] 17

independent organization having headquarters inTexas, officially joined the Social Democratic Party, asthe result of a conference held between its president,W.E. Farmer of Bonham, Texas, the members of itsExecutive Board, and Mr. Debs, who was in the Southon a lecture tour.

During June the SLP, which had long been filledwith internal dis-sention, experi-enced a split of themost disintegrat-ing sort. Two fac-tions were warringfor the mastery inNew York City,where the Na-tional ExecutiveCommittee waslocated. One wasled by DeLeon,Sanial, and HugoVogt, and theother by the pro-prietors of theNew York Volks-

zeitung. The despotic sway of DeLeon had not beenrelished and bad feeling existed all over the country.Some were jealous of it, others were disgusted by it.Of these latter was Eugene Dietzgen of Chicago, whosefather, Joseph Dietzgen, had been a compatriot withKarl Marx. Dietzgen saw how DeLeonism was per-verting the movement and rebelled against it. He hadbeen friendly to the Social Democratic Party, and thiswas made a pretext by some of DeLeon’s henchmen inChicago to prefer charges and to ultimately expel him.He issued a pamphlet in March against DeLeonismunder the title Leze Majesty and Treason to the “Fakirs”in the Socialist Labor Party, and sent it to every sectionof the party in the country. This, in conjunction witha weekly onslaught on DeLeonism which Wayland’sAppeal to Reason was making in the interests of a unitedsocialist movement, had some effect.

At a meeting of the general committee of Sec-tion Greater New York, at the Labor Lyceum on EastFourth Street, held on the evening of July 8 [1899], apitched battle took place. It was the first meeting afterthe semi-annual election of new delegates, and the

DeLeon faction had discovered that a majority of thenew committeemen were hostile to it. It was thereforeon its guard. The DeLeonites controlled the NationalExecutive Committee of the party, a committee whichthe other side intended to depose in a summary man-ner. The meeting had scarcely begun before the twofactions came to blows. The following from the ac-count of one of the eyewitnesses will give some idea ofthe scene that followed:

This act of violence on the part of Keep was the signalfor an outburst of passion seldom witnessed in any politicalmeeting, much less in a meeting of Socialists. The delegatespummeled each other until blood was seen flowing frommany wounds. Men were sprawling upon the floor, otherswere fighting in the corners, upon the tables, chairs, andupon the piano. Hugo Vogt, having climbed upon the latter,yelling and fairly foaming from the mouth...” etc.

Finally the DeLeon contingent withdrew. OnMonday evening, July 10 [1899], another fight tookplace. The Volkszeitung faction had held a meeting,deposed the National Committee, and elected one inits stead. A committee was sent to the office of ThePeople to demand the party property. They attemptedto force their way in and were repulsed by DeLeonand others, who were in possession, with clubs, bottles,and other weapons. The police were called in andobliged the intruders to retire. In the morning, stillunder police protection, the DeLeon people removedthe office effects to another location which they hadrented. As a result of the split, two SLPs took the placeof one. Each faction issued a weekly People, and printedmany columns of denunciation of the other side.Throughout the country the small party bosses in themain took sides with DeLeon, while the strength ofthe Volkszeitung faction came from San Francisco,Chicago, and Philadelphia. Many sections, disgustedwith the turn affairs had taken, joined the Social Demo-cratic Party outright. The quarrel in New York soongot into the courts, where the DeLeon party was givenofficial recognition. The same was true in Massachu-setts and other states, and the other faction was thusleft in a bad plight. In their dilemma the rank and fileturned to the Social Democratic Party, making over-tures, which at the present time seem to indicated acoming together of the two bodies under the SDPbanner within a few months, provided the leaders stillhold out.

W.E. Farmer

A Brief History of Socialism in America [Jan. 1900]18

Published by 1000 Flowers Publishing, Corvallis, OR, 2006. • Non-commercial reproduction permitted.

http://www.marxisthistory.org

Edited wtih footnotes by Tim Davenport.

During the Spring of 1899 the so-called “farm-ers’ program” in the platform of the Social DemocraticParty was the subject of considerable debate. Socialistswhose Socialism was static rather than dynamic chargedthat this part of the platform was reactionary. Thosewho supported it held that concentration was not tak-ing place in the rural districts as the early fathers ofthe Socialist movement had predicted and that thisfact had to be reckoned with if the party to show itselfscientific. The fact that the SLP singled out that partof the platform for attack and ridicule had its effect,however, and finally at a party conference held in Chi-cago July 6 [1899], it was decided to eliminate thefarmer demands subject to referendum vote of theparty. This vote, which was afterward taken, sustainedthe action of the conference. This conference, whichwas called by the National Executive Board, also fixedon the first Tuesday in March 1900 as the time for theparty convention for the choosing of nominees for thenational campaign, and Indianapolis was chosen as theconvention seat.

The National Board held monthly meetings atChicago during the year. One of its notable acts wasthe appointment of Eugene Dietzgen (who had mean-time become a member of the party) as the party del-egate to the International Socialist Congress to be heldat Paris in 1900 [Sept. 23-27]. Mr. Dietzgen left forEurope soon after with the intention of remaining untilthe congress. In October [1899] the National Boardpassed adversely upon the action of the branches ofthe party in New York City in affiliating with a newlyorganized Independent Labor Party, which grew outof the Brooklyn trolley strike. It was found that theILP was not only not a class-conscious party, but also

that it was being controlled by capitalistic politicians.The branches were reminded of the constitutional pro-vision against fusion with any other party and orderedto withdraw from the compact, which was done, theparty candidates being also withdrawn. For this rea-son the party was not represented in the Fall electionin New York.

New courage came to the party in 1899 in No-vember and December election. There was an increasedvote at all points where tickets were put up, and inMassachusetts James F. Carey was reelected to the leg-islature from the Haverhill district and Frederic O.McCartney from the Plymouth district. In the localelections in December, John C. Chase was reelectedmayor of Haverhill over a combination of Republi-cans and Democrats — in short, the battle was be-tween Socialism and Capitalism — and the party main-tained its position in the city council. At Brockton,C.H. Coulter, one of the hardest working Social Demo-crats in Massachusetts, was elected mayor with 1,500plurality, two aldermen also being elected.

We have traced the history of Socialism inAmerica from its earliest phases down through the yearsuntil we now see it clarified and resolute and ready forthe great political battle of 1900. It is already in thefirst flush of victory, it being only in recent years thatthe Socialists have been able to elect any of their can-didates. The times are changing, the need of Socialismis every day more and more apparent and the peoplethemselves are beginning to understand it as it reallyis, and therefore to want it. The movement is nowentirely native to the soil. Nothing can prevent it from“making history” in the years that are just before us.