Figure 1.--Many Americans considered socialism as outside the legitimate range of American politics an attitude that only deepened when the Socialist Party opposed American participation in World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (1917). Socialislt leader Eugene V. Debbs was convicted of sedition after urging resistance to the draft. Other Party members and supporters were arrested and jailed, often on trumped-up charges--in essence political prisoners. Here wives and children are protesting in front of the White House. At the time Warren Harding was president. Harding commuted Debs' sentence to time served (1921). The press caption read, "Wives and children odf political prisoners picket White House. L to R Mrs. Stanley Clark, Elbertine Reeder, Ivan Chaulin and Mrs Walker Reeder." The photograph was archived June 6, 1922. We are not sure when it was taken.

Socialists were slow to organize in America than Europe. Americans were more supportive of free markets and capitalism, presumavly because it had worked so well. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was the most important left-wing party and one of the most important third parties in American political history. It was a democratic socialist political party committed to participating in the democratic process as oposed to more radical left-wing groups like the Communists and Anarchists. The SPA was formed by the merger of the two of several small socialist groups, the Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party (1901). The SPA attracted the support of trade unionists, progressive social reformers, populist farmers, and the substantial immigrant communities more receptive to socialist thought than many Americans at the time. One of the lumiaries of the SPA was labor organizer Eugene V. Debs. He garnered more than 0.9 million votes in the 1912 and 1920 presidential elections. The SPA only managed to elect two Congressmen, but mnaged to elect many state legislators and mayors. The SPA including Debbs opposed American entry into World War I (1917). This was applauded by many Party members and the left in general, but the SPA was adversely affected by the patriotic fervor that swept America. President Wilson called him a traitor. Some Party members left the SPA which suffered official repression. Debbs was arrested after urging resistant to the draft for sedition. The SPA was deeply divided by both the Bolshevik Revolution (1917) and the Communist International (1919). The SGP endorsed Robert LaFollette's presidential campaign rather than nominating its own candidate (1924). The SPA subsequently nominated its own candidate. The Party gained adherents during the Depression era of the 1930s. Debs died (1926) and Norman Thomas became the leading face of the Party. The liberal reforms of President Roosevelt's New Deal attracted the support of many voters who might otherwise have joined the SPA. This was particularly the case because the New Deal promoted reforms like Soial Security that Debs had championed. Internal infighting within the Party further weakened it. The SPA presidential candidate Darlington Hoopes won only 3,000 votes (1956). The Party subsequently ceased running presidetial candidates.

Created: 1:30 AM 4/10/2016
Last updated: 1:30 AM 4/10/2016