Clarence Ollson Senior (1903–1974) was an American

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...

best remembered as the National Executive Secretary of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...

during the 1930s. Originally a protégé of Presidential candidate

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 ...

, during the inner-party fight of the 1930s, Senior became an active supporter of the so-called "Militant" faction. After resigning his post late in 1936, Senior returned to

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...

, becoming a widely published

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

specializing on the affairs of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and other nations of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Biography

Early years

Clarence Ollson Senior was born in 1903. He attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, where he was active in the Student League for Industrial Democracy, the current incarnation of the

Intercollegiate Socialist Society The Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS) was a socialist student organization active from 1905 to 1921. It attracted many prominent intellectuals and writers and acted as an unofficial student wing of the Socialist Party of America. The Society ...

headed by

Harry W. Laidler Harry Wellington Laidler (February 18, 1884 – July 14, 1970) was an American socialist writer, magazine editor, and politician. He is best remembered as executive director of the League for Industrial Democracy, successor to the Intercollegiate ...

.Bernard K. Johnpoll, ''Pacifist's Progress: Norman Thomas and the Decline of American Socialism.'' Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1970; pg. 60. Senior worked his way through high school and college, performing a variety of jobs, including work as a mechanic, night watchman, truck driver, shipping clerk and working in a soap factory. Upon graduation from Kansas, Senior had become associated with the League of Kansas MunicipalitiesDavid Shannon, ''The Socialist Party of America: A History.'' New York: Macmillan, 1955; pg. 202. before moving to join the Cleveland Federation of Teachers in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. In 1927, Senior joined the

. Historian Bernard K. Johnpoll indicates that Senior was an acolyte of rising Socialist Party star

even in these early days, representative of the sort of

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

s which Thomas sought to bring into the party. Senior spent three months in Europe in 1928 studying workers' education on behalf of the Adult Education Association."Clarence Senior," short biography, 1930. Socialist Party of the United States of America Records, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI. Box 6, folder 4. While in Europe, Senio attended a conference of the

War Resisters' International War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 30 countries. History ''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 unde ...

and was a delegate to the World Youth Peace Congress held in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Political career

During the second half of the 1920s, the Socialist Party was headed by William H. Henry, a venerable party loyalist from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Historian

Irving Howe Irving Howe (; June 11, 1920 – May 5, 1993) was an American literary and social critic and a prominent figure of the Democratic Socialists of America. Early years Howe was born as Irving Horenstein in The Bronx, New York. He was the son o ...

recalled Henry as an inept figure:

"...provincial, bumbling, half-literate — one of those figures from the Midwest who might have stepped out of a
Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...
novel depicting the struggle of small-town Americans for the rudiments of culture. That the Socialist Party could find no one better to run its day-to-day affairs tells almost everything about its decline."

When the Spring of 1929, Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party Henry fell into personal difficulties with his wife, Emma Henry, herself the SPA's State Secretary in Indiana, Executive Secretary Henry abruptly resigned his office. The governing National Executive Committee found themselves in a position of needing to find a permanent replacement, appointing Mabel H. Barnes to fulfill the role on a temporary basis. The NEC targeted the 27-year-old college-educated Clarence Senior for the position, bringing him to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for conversations with key party leaders. Senior confessed that he felt inadequate to the task of assuming the position of National Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party owing to his rather superficial knowledge of socialist theory.

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, Hillqui ...

queried the young man from Cleveland: "You've read Comrade Laidler's book, haven't you?" Senior allowed that he had. Harry Laidler continued in the same vein: "You've read Comrade Hillquit's book, haven't you?" Again, Senior responded in the affirmative. "What more do you need to know about socialist theory?" asked Morris Hillquit with a smile. The NEC arbitrarily waived the party's constitutional requirement that the Executive Secretary be a party member for at least three years and named Senior to the position. The formal nomination of Senior was made by NEC member

Victor L. Berger Victor Luitpold Berger (February 28, 1860August 7, 1929) was an Austrian–American socialist politician and journalist who was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party of America and its successor, the Socialist Party of America. Born in ...

on June 11, 1929, and was approved by a vote of 6 to 2, with 1 abstention, on June 19. The Socialist Party was in a tenuous position when Senior was finally able to assume his new position in August 1929. The party owed money to its printer and was nearly two years in arrears in the payment of its dues to the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Party membership was at its nadir, less than 8,000, about half of whom were members of non-English-speaking foreign language federations. Senior was instrumental in solidifying the party's financial situation through economical operation of the national office and through the successful solicitation of funds from the organization's loyal remaining membership core. Senior also set about building the size of the Socialist Party's membership ranks. Historian David A. Shannon recalled:

"When Clarence Senior became national secretary in the summer of 1929, he brought to the national office some long-needed vigor. the results were immediate. By the end of 1929 the Socialist Party had gained more members than it had in all the years since 1923. Through the United Socialist Drive it had raised more funds than it had in years, it had revived the flow of Socialist pamphlets which had all but dried up since the war, and it had boosted the circulation of Socialist newspapers....

Senior established a Social Problems Lecture Bureau bringing Socialist speakers to paying audiences around the country, promoting the party's cause and bringing in needed funds at the same time. Senior also targeted sympathetic individuals who were not formal members of the Socialist Party in his fund-raising efforts, sending out 10,000 letters as part of a 1931 campaign called the "Socialism Forward Drive." These efforts proved to be relatively successful. "The Socialist Party never had enough money to do all it wanted to, but Senior's money-raising enabled it to do more than it had for over a decade," Shannon notes. While the Socialist Party received an injection of enthusiasm in the aftermath of the first Presidential run of

in November 1928 and gained adherents in the aftermath of the

1929 Wall Street Crash The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

and the coming of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, many believe the party's growth during the first half of the 1930s was also due to Clarence Senior's energetic leadership. Historian David Shannon called 1930. Senior's first year on the job as Executive Secretary, "the first full year of vigorous leadership for the party since

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Branstetter resigned in the early 1920s."Shannon, ''The Socialist Party of America,'' pg. 224. A period of growth followed, with 32 new SPA locals established in 1930, 96 more in 1931, and nearly 600 in 1932. With the influx of new members came a radicalization of the Socialist Party, with many newcomers professing a belief in

revolutionary socialism Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolut ...

rather than strictly concentrating upon biannual parliamentary campaigns. From about 1930 these new radicals organized themselves into a formal faction known as the "

Militants The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin ...

," while older, more tradition-bound members also formally organized themselves as a so-called "

Old Guard faction The Old Guard faction was an organized group in the Socialist Party of America (SPA) that sought to retain the organization's traditional orientation towards electoral politics by fighting the Militant faction of generally-younger party members who ...

." Senior aligned himself with the younger, more vigorous, and more radical forces and against the "Old Guard." In the summer of 1933 the Militants, with Senior as their ostensible spokesman, sought to remove "official" status from the New York weekly newspaper ''The New Leader,'' the voice of the Old Guard edited by

James Oneal James J. "Jim" Oneal (March 13, 1875 – December 12, 1962), a founding member of the Socialist Party of America (SPA), was a prominent socialist journalist, historian, and party activist who played a decisive role in the bitter party splits of 19 ...

— an action which earned the enmity of the slighted moderates. Personal antipathy was also intertwined in this factional struggle. Ever since 1928, party Presidential candidate Norman Thomas had been at odds with National Chairman

, the best known and most widely respected of the Old Guard leaders. According to one historian, Thomas had played a leading role in an effort to oust Hillquit:

"Thomas believed that Hillquit acted as a brake on Socialist activity nationally at a time when Thomas's protégé, Clarence Senior, was trying to make the party an effective organization. For these reasons, Thomas was instrumental in arranging for a coalition of all anti-Hillquit elements in an effort to wrest the national chairmanship from him."

At the same time the Old Guard, with National Chairman

at their head, sought to remove Senior from his post as National Executive Secretary in favor of their own man,

Marx Lewis Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

,Shannon, ''The Socialist Party of America,'' pg. 237. who had recently led successful fundraising efforts on behalf of the Milwaukee socialist daily newspaper, '' The Milwaukee Leader.'' Although the governing NEC of the party was narrowly split between the followers of Hillquit and Thomas, Clarence Senior was narrowly able to retain his position in 1932 due to the concerted effort of the Thomas group. This phase of the inner-party struggle ended in October 1933, when Hillquit died from the

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

which had plagued him throughout his life and the balance of power shifted further away from the Old Guard in the Socialist Party. In August 1933, Senior was elected one of six delegates of the SPA to a special conference of the

Labor and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI; german: Sozialistische Arbeiter-Internationale, label=German, SAI) was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a me ...

held in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Senior was joined by three other members of the Militant faction, including

Paul Blanshard Paul Beecher Blanshard (August 27, 1892 – January 27, 1980) was an American author, assistant editor of ''The Nation'' magazine, lawyer, socialist, secular humanist, and from 1949 an outspoken critic of Catholicism. Early life and educa ...

and Professor Maynard Krueger, as well as two supporters of the Old Guard, Hermann Kobbe and

Jacob Panken Jacob Panken (January 13, 1879 – February 4, 1968) was an American socialist politician, best remembered for his tenure as a New York municipal judge and frequent candidacies for high elected office on the ticket of the Socialist Party of Ame ...

. The Militant majority of the American delegation lent their support to what one historian has called a "quasi-Communist resolution" calling for "workers' democracy" — a position which factional patriarch Norman Thomas did not share. Thomas was placed in a difficult position when this action of his allies was repudiated at a national conference of the SPA held in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in June 1934. In 1935, the Socialist Party began an official party newspaper, ''The Socialist Call'', in opposition to ''The New Leader,'' and the organization moved towards a formal split, with James Oneal,

Louis Waldman Louis Waldman (January 5, 1892 – September 12, 1982) was a leading figure in the Socialist Party of America from the late 1910s and through the middle 1930s, a founding member of the Social Democratic Federation, and a prominent New York labo ...

Algernon Lee Algernon H. "Al" Lee (1873 – 1954) was an American socialist politician and educator. In addition to serving as a member of the New York City Council during World War I, Lee was one of three co-authors of the controversial anti-war resolution at ...

, and the Old Guard leaving the party immediately after the May 1936 Cleveland Convention to form the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

(SDF). Senior remained in the post of Executive Secretary through the November 1936 election, resigning in December so that he might go to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

to "recover his health.""Retires," ''The Socialist Call,'' vol. 2, whole no. 91 (December 12, 1936), pg. 2. The retiring Senior was feted at a dinner in his honor at the Cafe Idrott in Chicago on the evening of December 12, 1936. Senior was replaced by

Roy E. Burt Roy Everett Burt (September 16, 1890 – April 14, 1967) was a United Methodist Church, Methodist clergyman and an American socialist politician and functionary. Burt is best remembered as the Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party of Ameri ...

, effective December 15, 1936. The

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Rooseve ...

landslide in the 1936 election in the face of a full Socialist campaign was disheartening and amidst the faction fighting and splits, party membership dropped precipitously. By February 1937 less than 6,500 paid members remained in the organization.Shannon, ''The Socialist Party of America,'' pg. 249. With the end of Senior's tenure as Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party, his political career essentially drew to a close. A new chapter of his life awaited him in the world of academia.

Academic career

Around 1940, Senior returned to college, attending the University of Kansas City (now the University of Missouri-Kansas City) in the Department of Political Science and History. In 1942 he completed his Masters' thesis, entitled ''The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad.'' Senior went on to publish a wide range of journal articles and books, specializing on Puerto Rican affairs with an emphasis on matters of emigration and the problems of the Puerto Rican working class. Senior was also the

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

of Puerto Rican socialist and labor leader

Santiago Iglesias Santiago Iglesias Pantín (February 22, 1872 – December 5, 1939), was a Spanish-born Puerto Rican socialist and trade union activist. Iglesias is best remembered as a leading supporter of statehood for Puerto Rico, and as the Resident Commi ...

, with his book published on that figure in 1972.Clarence Ollson Senior, ''Santiago Iglesias: Labor Crusader.'' Hato Rey, Puerto Rico: Interamerican University Press, 1972.

Later years, death, and legacy

Clarence Senior died in 1974. A portion of Clarence Senior's papers, dating from 1924 through 1945, are held in the Social Action Collection of 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 ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Footnotes

Works

Books and pamphlets

* ''Organizing the World for Socialism.'' Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius Publications, 1931. * ''Facing the Housing Problem.'' Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Housing Council, 1938. * ''Mexico in Transition.'' New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1939. * ''Democracy Comes to a Cotton Kingdom: The Story of Mexico's La Laguna.'' Mexico City: Centro de Estudios Pedagogicos e Hispanoamericanos, 1940. * ''Self-Determination for Puerto Rico.'' New York: Post War World Council, 1946.
''The Puerto Rican Migrant in St. Croix.'' University of Puerto Rico, 1947.
from the Diaspora Project Digital Humanities Center at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras * ''The Puerto Ricans of New York City.'' With Carmen Isales. New York: New York Office, Employment and Migration Bureau, Puerto Rico Dept. of Labor, n.d. . 1948 * ''Puerto Rican Dispersed Migration: A Pilot Investigation.'' New York: Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University, 1949. * ''A Selected Bibliography on Puerto Rico and the Puerto Ricans.'' With Josefina de Román. New York: Migration Division, Dept. of Labor of Puerto Rico, 1951. * ''Labor Unions and Spanish-Speaking Workers: Report on Conference held December 20, 1952.'' New York: Dept. of Labor, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 1953. * ''Migrants: People not Problems.'' New York: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Dept. of Labor, Migration Division, n.d. . 1954 * ''A Report on Jamaican Migration to Great Britain.'' Kingston, Jamaica: Government Printer, 1955. * ''Puerto Rican Migration: Spontaneous and Organized.'' Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1955. * ''The West Indian in Britain.'' London: Fabian Colonial Bureau, 1956. * ''Land Reform and Democracy.'' Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1958. * ''Strangers — Then neighbors: From Pilgrims to Puerto Ricans.'' New York: Freedom Books, 1961. * ''Migration as a Process and the Migrant as a Person: Address Made on June 12, 1961.'' Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1961. * ''The Puerto Ricans: Strangers — Then Neighbors.'' Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1965. * ''Our Citizens from the Caribbean.'' St. Louis: McGraw-Hill, 1965. * ''Toward Cultural Democracy.'' New York: Selected Academic Readings, 1968. * ''Santiago Iglesias: Labor Crusader.'' Hato Rey, Puerto Rico: Interamerican University Press, 1972.

Articles

* "The International Socialist Conference," ''American Socialist Quarterly,'' vol. 2, no. 4 (Autumn 1933), pp. 20–26. * "Mexico's Road to Social Revolution," ''Socialist Review,'' Part 1: vol. 6, no. 3 (October–November 1937), pp. 10–12. Part 2: vol. 6, no. 4 (January–February 1938), pp. 11–13. * "Community Health Services in Mexico," ''The American Journal of Nursing,'' vol. 41, no. 3 (March 1941), pg. 318. * "Migration and Puerto Rico's Population Problem," ''The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,'' vol. 285 (January 1953), pp. 130–136. * "Patterns of Puerto Rican Dispersion in the Continental United States," ''Social Problems,'' vol. 2, no. 2 (October 1954), pp. 93–99. * "Migration and Economic Development in Puerto Rico," ''The Journal of Educational Sociology,'' vol. 28, no. 4 (December 1954), pp. 151–156. * "Race Relations and Labor Supply in Great Britain," ''Social Problems,'' vol. 4, no. 4 (April 1957), pp. 302–312. * "The Puerto Ricans in New York: A Progress Note," ''International Migration Review,'' vol. 2, no. 2 (Spring 1968), pp. 73–79.