SOME REMARKS ON THE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE C. P. U. S. A. BY EARL BROWDER HE twentieth anniversary of the lagged behind that of the other capi­ T Communist Party of the U.S.A. talist countries. This was especially occurs at a moment of world and na­ true of the political movement of the tional crisis. At such moments ad­ working class, and of its highest ex­ vanced mankind instinctively turns to pression, the socialist or communist a re-evaluation of its history, of the movement. It is only in the last road by which it came to the crisis twenty years that there has been an facing it, in order the better to equip American party expressly basing itself itself for the impending struggles upon Marxian theory, and only in which will determine future history. the last decade that this party has It is thus no mere formal duty if we, come to play a sustained and impor­ on our anniversary, tum our atten­ tant role in the life of the country. tion more seriously than ever before In approaching the task of working to a consideration of the history of out a detailed and systematic under­ our Party. standing of the history of the U.S.A., It was more than ninety years ago of the labor movement, and of the when Marx and Engels penned their Socialist and Communist movement, famous phrase-"a specter hovers over specifically of the Communist Party Europe, the specter of Communism." of the U.S.A., we have received a Since that time Communism has highly important stimulus and help grown into a world movement of de­ in the recently-published History of cisive importance for every country. the Communist Party of the Soviet The Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This great book, the highest Union has come to power in a federa­ expression and epitome of the teach­ tion of nations, one-sixth of the earth, ings of Marx, Engels, Lenin and has successfully founded the first so­ Stalin, will more and more prove it­ cialist society, establishing an invinci­ self an invaluable guide to the master­ ble stronghold in a hostile world, and ing of the problems of American his­ is now proceeding to take up the tasks tory also, in the course of mastering of the transition to communism. Marxist-Leninist theory in practice. The United States has been, for There is, of course, no cheap and some generations, the land of the easy parallel to be drawn between most advanced capitali~t society. But Russian and American · history, for a long period the labor movement whether of the country, of the work- REMARKS ON THE 20m ANNIVERSARY OF C;P.U.S.A. 78g ing class, or of the Communist Party. Communist history in America up to Indeed, these two countries, despite the World War. most significant similarities and har­ The pre-war history falls quite monies, seemed to stand at opposite naturally into several distinctive peri· poles of historical development over ods. These may be briefly character­ a long time. No, it is not in the me­ ized as follows: (1) From the begin­ chanical translation of Russian ex­ nings of trade union organization, in perience to America, but in the the 182o's, through the Civil War and mastering of the theory which Reconstruction period; {2) the brought the Party of Lenin and Stalin Knights of Labor movement, its strug­ to its eminence of achievement, that gle with the rising American Federa­ the History of the Communist Party tion of Labor, and its . decline, of the Soviet Union will serve the through the 188o's; (3) the early American working class. American Federation of Labor, up to This article is but one of the pre­ the turn of the twentieth century; liminary steps toward a full analysis (4) from the early 19oo's up to the and exposition of our history upon World War, the rise of the Industrial Marxist-Leninist lines. It is a series of Workers of the World (I.W.W.), in suggestions, which must be submitted 1905, the dominance of "pure and to the most searching examination, shnple trade unionism" in the A. F. of correction, elaboration, and confirma­ L. (comparable to Russian "econo­ tion, in the course of writing the au­ mism") symbolized in the Civic Fed­ thoritative history of our Party. eration, organ of collaboration be­ tween labor leaders and monopoly THE PRE-WAR LABOR AND SOCIALIST capitalists. MOVEMENT Socialist or communist . develop­ ment for these periods may be brief­ American labor has a long and rich ly described as follows: (1) Utopian history. Its militancy is comparable socialist and communist colonization with that of any country. It ma.de schemes and philosophies; the first profound contributions to American beginnings of Marxian thought democracy. It produced many power­ through German immigrants; (2) the ful and selfless leading personalities, struggle between anarchism and as well as great mass movements. Yet Marxism; the American groups of the for many generations it lagged behind First International; (3) the rise of the other advanced countries in political Socialist-Labor Party, and, in the and intellectual development, and is West, the Social-Democratic Party; only beginning to achieve its inde-· (4) the Socialist Party, split from the pendence as a self-conscious and di­ Socialist-Labor Party and amalga­ recting force in the national life. The mated with the Social-Democratic full elucidation of these positive and Party, its rise as a mass movement negative features of the American under Debs, its crystallization around labor movement, with the tracing of two conflicting tendencies, vaguely their historical roots, poses the cen­ identified as "Right" and "Left" tral problem of working class and wing; the first mass circula- THE COMMUNIST tion of Marxian classic literature. brought a socialist consciousness and In the beginning of the modem or­ training from their lands of origiri, to ganized Socialist movement in the a great extent from Russia. U.S., its relations with the trade This illustrates the contradiction unions were close and harmonious. which runs throughout the pre-war Even Samuel Gompers, who later be­ history of American working class po­ came the traditional "socialist eater" litical and trade union organizations. as head of the A. F. of L., was trained All efforts to develop a principled in a Socialist environment, and for a policy and leadership, based on class­ time worked in harmony with the So­ consciousness and a vision of the his­ cialists. Later, in the closing years of toric mission of the working class, the nineteenth century, the Socialist­ were wrecked by sectarianism, rigid Labor Party entered into a disastrous and mechanical dogmatism, which factional struggle with the trade quickly divorced the movement from union leadership, under the inspira­ the masses; the efforts to regain a base tion of Daniel De Leon, on the issue among the masses, and to deal with of De Leon's demand for mechanical daily life in a realistic manner, control of the tra.de unions by the quickly degenerated into unprinci­ Socialist-Labor Party, and for the pled opportunism (which always re­ party's direct representation in trade mained narrowly sectarian) and the union councils. It was largely this liquidation of the party as the true issue that precipitated the split in the expression of the working class in its Socialist-Labor Party which gave birth historical development. to the Socialist Party of America, Clearly, what was missing in the under the leadership of Hillquit, American working class and Socialist Debs and Berger. movements was the type of leadership But if the Socialist-Labor Party, which Marx and Engels had provided under De Leon, had committed fata1 to the First International; which mistakes of rigid, doctrinaire, secta­ Engels gave to the first period of the rianism, the Socialist Party, under the Second International; which Lenin dominating influence of Hillquit, gave to the Russian Social-Democratic adopted an equally disastrous policy Labor Party (Bolsheviks), and to the of "neutrality" on trade union ques­ Communist International; the type of tions, a policy which liquidated the leadership which Stalin has provided influence of the Socialist Party in the to the C.P.S.U. and the international basic organizations of the working movement after the death of Lenin. dass. If Hillquit thought thereby to What was missing was the revolu.tion­ fill the gap between party and trade ary theory, and the Party that em­ unions caused by De Leonism, he mis­ bodies that theory, as founded by calculated. The Socialist Party at­ Marx and Engels and developed by tained a relatively stable influence Lenin and Stalin. primarily in those unions which it A characteristic of Marx, Engels, had been primarily instrumental in Lenin and Stalin, that dates from the founding-the needle trades unions Communist League of 1848. and the of New York, where the workers had Communist Manifesto, and is the REMARKS ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF C.P.U.S.A. 791 hallmark of scientific socialism or table Babel of confusion in ideology, communism, is the "struggle OR two and the stronger it grew in numbers fronts," ·simultaneously against Right the weaker it became in inner cohe­ and "Leftist" deviations from the cor­ sion. It tended more and more to be­ rect policy, against opportunist aban­ come a mere electioneering combimi­ donment of fundamental principles tion of the most disparate and ide­ for supposed "practical" advantages, ologically conflicting groups and ten­ and against sectarianism, against dis­ dencies. That the Socialist Party, even dain of the daily small problems of in its heyday, produced not a single the working class, against anarchist piece of literature of lasting signifi­ tendencies, and against revolutionary cance is sufficient commentary upon romanticism.