![Goldman-Albert-1942](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Goldman-Albert-1942.jpg)
Albert Goldman (1897–1960) was a
Belorussian-born American political and
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
lawyer, closely associated with the American communist movement. Goldman broke with the mainline
Communist Party, USA
The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
in 1933, joining the Trotskyist opposition, in which he would be a leading participant for the better part of the next two decades. Goldman is best remembered as a defendant and lead defense attorney in the 1941
Smith Act
The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3d session, ch. 439, , is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of th ...
prosecution of the leadership of the
Socialist Workers Party.
Background
Albert Goldman was born of ethnic
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents in 1897 in the
Minsk oblast
Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk, ...
of today's
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
, then part of the
Russian empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
.
[Albert Glotzer, "Albert Goldman," in Bernard K. Johnpoll and Harvey Klehr (eds.), ''Biographical Dictionary of the American Left.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1986; pp. 159-160.] The family emigrated to the United States in 1904, when Albert was 7, settling in the Midwestern metropolis of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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Goldman attended elementary and secondary school in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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before leaving for
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
to study to become a
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
at
Hebrew Union College.
Goldman left before completing his rabbinical studies and transferred to the
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
, where he not only studied but was a star athlete, captaining the collegiate basketball team and running track.
Following his graduation from college in 1919, Goldman worked as a
tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
. He came into contact with the radical movement in this occupation, first joining the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
and shortly thereafter the newly formed
Communist Party of America
The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
.
Goldman made use of the pseudonym "Albert Verblin," under which name he wrote a polemic pamphlet answering a 1921 book by
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
leader
Morris Hillquit
Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hil ...
entitled ''From Marx to Lenin.''
Goldman went on to study at the
Northwestern University Law School
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law sch ...
, from which he graduated in 1925.
Career
CPUSA
Following his admission to the Illinois State Bar, Goldman opened a legal practice in Chicago and began several years of close association with
International Labor Defense
The International Labor Defense (ILD) (1925–1947) was a legal advocacy organization established in 1925 in the United States as the American section of the Comintern's International Red Aid network. The ILD defended Sacco and Vanzetti, was activ ...
(ILD), the legal defense organization of the Communist Party.
On behalf of the IlD, Goldman participated in a series of cases defending political radicals and trade union activists who had run afoul of the law.
In 1931 Goldman made a trip to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, an experience which he found disillusioning.
["Albert Goldman Papers, 1940-1959: Biography/History,"]
Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2013. Goldman's intellectual unease grew and he became connected with the
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...
opposition movement, leading to Goldman's expulsion from the Communist Party, USA in 1933.
Trotskyism
![TrotskiEnMéjicoEn1937](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/TrotskiEnM%C3%A9jicoEn1937.jpeg)
After his expulsion from the CPUSA, Goldman joined the
Communist League of America (CLA), the small Trotskyist opposition party headed by
James P. Cannon and
Max Shachtman
Max Shachtman (; September 10, 1904 – November 4, 1972) was an American Marxist theorist. He went from being an associate of Leon Trotsky to a social democrat and mentor of senior assistants to AFL–CIO President George Meany.
Beginnings
S ...
.
He worked as an attorney on behalf of the Trotskyist movement, representing the CLA-led
Minneapolis Teamsters strikers in 1934.
Goldman was an early advocate of dissolution of the party and entrance into the
Socialist Party of America (SPA) in an effort to unite the
anti-Stalinist left and to radicalize that organization.
He was unable to win support for this position, however, so he severed his connection with the Trotskyists to himself join the SPA.
In 1935 he established a mimeographed periodical called ''
The Socialist Appeal'' as part of his effort to radicalize the Socialist Party.
It was not long before Goldman's idea of entry into the social democratic movement in an effort to unite and radicalize it had won currency in the international Trotskyist movement in accordance with the so-called "
French Turn
The French Turn was the name given to the entry between 1934 and 1936 of the French Trotskyists into the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO, the contemporary name of the French Socialist Party). The French Turn was repeated by Tr ...
". The Trotskyists and their organizational allies associated with
A. J. Muste
Abraham Johannes Muste ( ; January 8, 1885 – February 11, 1967) was a Dutch-born American clergyman and political activist. He is best remembered for his work in the labor movement, pacifist movement, antiwar movement, and civil rights movemen ...
, who had worked together in a new organization called the
American Workers Party, dissolved their organization and entered the Socialist Party ''en masse.''
Goldman became the attorney of
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
, cloistered in exile in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
, and defended him there in April 1937 against the charges leveled against him by the regime of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
in hearings conducted before a high-profile
commission headed by liberal educator
John Dewey.
Goldman also served as an intermediary for Trotsky in the transfer of his personal and political archive to the library at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
.
Goldman's ''Socialist Appeal'' became the semi-official organ of the organized Trotskyist faction inside the SPA up until their expulsion late in 1937 and their establishment of a new organization called the
Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in 1938.
Smith Act trial
In 1941, Goldman was a defendant as well as chief defense counsel in the Minneapolis trial of top Socialist Workers Party leaders accused of violating the
Smith Act
The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3d session, ch. 439, , is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of th ...
—a prosecution pushed owing to the SWP's continuing opposition to American participation in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The defendants in this case were convicted and served prison terms ranging from 12 to 16 months.
While in prison, Goldman worked with
Felix Morrow
Felix Morrow (June 3, 1906 – May 28, 1988) was an American communist political activist and newspaper editor. In later years, Morrow left the world of politics to become a book publisher. He is best remembered as a factional leader of the Americ ...
to develop criticisms of the SWP and
Fourth International
The Fourth International (FI) is a revolutionary socialist international organization consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky, also known as Trotskyists, whose declared goal is the overthrowing of global capitalism and the establishment of ...
leaderships. They claimed that predictions of a
revolutionary wave
A revolutionary wave or revolutionary decade is one series of revolutions occurring in various locations within a similar time-span. In many cases, past revolutions and revolutionary waves have inspired current ones, or an initial revolution has ...
after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
had been proved incorrect, and that
Stalinism, far from being destroyed (as Trotsky had predicted) had been strengthened. They also became critical of the party's organizational structures. The pair were only able to convince a small minority of the party of their positions, although this included key figures including
Jean Van Heijenoort
Jean Louis Maxime van Heijenoort (; July 23, 1912 – March 29, 1986) was a historian of mathematical logic. He was also a personal secretary to Leon Trotsky from 1932 to 1939, and an American Trotskyist until 1947.
Life
Van Heijenoort was born ...
and
James T. Farrell
James Thomas Farrell (February 27, 1904 – August 22, 1979) was an American novelist, short-story writer and poet.
He is most remembered for the ''Studs Lonigan'' trilogy, which was made into a film in 1960 and a television series in 1979.
B ...
.
Following his release from prison in 1943, Goldman found himself
disbarred from legal practice.
He was forced to establish a car-rental business as a means of paying the bills while he worked for readmission to the Illinois bar.
He would not be successfully reinstated to the bar until 1956, only a few years before his death.
Postwar
Following his release from prison, Goldman returned to his role among the leaders of the Socialist Workers Party. He gradually grew disenchanted, however, until in 1946 he and a small group of followers bolted the Cannon-led SWP to join the rival
Workers Party, headed by Max Shachtman from 1940.
Goldman ran for political office in 1947, entering the race to become
Mayor of Chicago with the support of the Workers Party.
Within the Workers Party, Goldman worked closely with James T. Farrell. In 1948, the pair developed criticisms of its policies, claiming that the party should support the
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
and also the presidential campaign of Socialist
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian minister who achieved fame as a socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.
Early years
Thomas was the ...
.
The divergence of these views from the party majority proved to be the impetus for an exit from the Workers Party in 1949.
Goldman became a nominal member of the Socialist Party following his exit from the Workers Party, but in practice the period of his active participation in radical politics came to a close following his quitting of Shachtman's organization.
Death
Albert Goldman developed health problems towards the end of the 1950s, leading to his death from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in 1960.
Legacy
Goldman's papers reside at the
Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...
, located on the campus of the
University of Wisconsin, Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
.
Albert Goldman Papers, Online Finding Aid
Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI.
Works
* ''The Struggle for Power: From a Proletarian Viewpoint.'' As Albert Verblin. New York: Workers' Educational League, n.d. . 1921
* ''Charge: Rioting; Verdict: Not Guilty!: A Plea to a Jury by Albert Goldman, Attorney for the International Labor Defense.'' Chicago: International Labor Defense, Chicago District, n.d. 932
Year 932 ( CMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Alberic II leads an uprising at Rome against his stepfather Hugh of Provence ...
* ''From Communism to Socialism: A Lecture Delivered before the Sixth Congressional Branch Forum of the Socialist Party of Cook County, December 7, 1934.'' n.c. hicago? n.p., 1935.
* ''What is Socialism?: Three Lectures for Workers.'' New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1938.
* ''The Assassination of Leon Trotsky: The Proofs of Stalin's Guilt.'' New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1940.
* ''Why We Defend the Soviet Union.'' New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1940.
* ''The Truth About the Minneapolis Trial of the 28: Speech for the Defense.'' New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1942.
* ''In Defense of Socialism: The Official Court Record of Albert Goldman's Final Speech for the Defense in the Famous Minneapolis "Sedition" Trial.'' New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1942.
''The Question of Unity Between the Workers Party and the Socialist Workers Party.''
Long Island City: Workers Party, 1947.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Marxists Internet Archive
Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Eng ...
''The Socialist Appeal'' (Chicago, 1935-37),"
Marxists Internet Archive, Index of contents and complete run of full PDFs.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldman, Albert
1897 births
1960 deaths
Politicians from Chicago
Hebrew Union College alumni
Jewish American writers
Members of the Communist Party USA
Members of the Socialist Workers Party (United States)
Members of the Workers Party (United States)
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni
University of Cincinnati alumni
Members of the Communist League of America
Writers from Chicago
Lawyers from Chicago
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States