Harry Winitsky
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Harry Mordecai Winitsky (1898–1939) was an American left wing
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 ...
who was a founding member of the
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 ...
. Winitsky is best remembered as one of the chief defendants of the New York "Criminal Anarchism" prosecutions that were part of the
First Red Scare The First Red Scare was a period during the early 20th-century history of the United States marked by a widespread fear of far-left movements, including Bolshevism and anarchism, due to real and imagined events; real events included the R ...
of 1919–1920. Winitsky served two years in prison of a 5 to 10-year sentence beginning in March 1920. Released on
bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...
in 1922, Winitsky was ultimately pardoned by New York
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Al Smith in January 1924. Winitsky left the Communist Party USA in 1929.


Biography


Early years

Harry Winitsky was born January 25, 1898, in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, the son of a painter who had emigrated to the United States from Tsarist Russia. As a boy, Winitsky attended public schools in New York City.Solon DeLeon with Irma C. Hayssen and Grace Poole (eds.), ''The American Labor Who's Who.'' New York: Hanford Press, 1925; pg. 253. Upon graduation, he stayed in New York to enroll at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, which he attended in 1917.


Early political career

From an early age, Winitsky became active in radical politics. He joined the youth section of the Socialist Party of America, the Young Peoples Socialist League in 1913 and went on to participate in the adult party itself through 1919. In 1919, Winitsky became active in the
Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party The Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party was an organized faction within the Socialist Party of America in 1919 which served as the core of the dual communist parties which emerged in the fall of that year—the Communist Party of America ...
, becoming a founding member of the
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 ...
(CPA) in August 1919. In 1918, Winitsky was twice jailed for participating in strike activities, serving a sentence of 10 days in
West New York, New Jersey West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912. The Census Bureau's Population Estimat ...
, and an additional 30-day stint in
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.


Criminal Anarchism trial

During the CPA's brief interval of open public existence during the last half of 1919, Winitsky served as the Executive Secretary of the Communist Party of New YorkSee
"Speech by Harry Winitsky, Executive Secretary of the Communist Party of New York...December 22, 1919."
Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2005.
— a position which drew him to the attention of law enforcement authorities, many of whom considered the Communist Party an illegal and
seditious Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...
organization. Paid stenographers were assigned to transcribe Winitsky's public utterances, with a view to generating evidence for an eventual prosecution. Although not themselves
anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
, Winitsky was one of five prominent members of the American Communist movement charged under the New York Criminal Anarchy Law of 1902, a piece of legislation hurriedly passed in the wake of the assassination of President
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
.Swinburne Hale, "Criminal Anarchy and Syndicalist Trials," in Alexander Trachtenberg and Benjamin Glassberg (eds.), ''American Labor Year Book 1921-22: Volume 4.'' New York: Rand School of Social Science, n.d. 921 pg. 18. The indictments against Winitsky and his comrades charged under the New York law —
Benjamin Gitlow Benjamin Gitlow (December 22, 1891 – July 19, 1965) was a prominent American socialist politician of the early 20th century and a founding member of the Communist Party USA. During the end of the 1930s, Gitlow turned to conservatism and wrote t ...
, who preceded him, as well as
James Larkin James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party along with James Connolly and Willia ...
, Isaac Ferguson, and C.E. Ruthenberg, who followed — was based upon the publication and dissemination of the Manifesto of the Left Wing of the Socialist Party in '' The Revolutionary Age'' on July 5, 1919. Prosecutors used the theory that the Manifesto of the Left Wing advocated the abolition of organized government by unlawful means and that Winitsky, having been present at the Party's 1919 convention in Chicago, had subscribed to the ideas in it. An agent of the
Lusk Committee The Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditious Activities, popularly known as the Lusk Committee, was formed in 1919 by the New York State Legislature to investigate individuals and organizations in New York State suspected of sedition. ...
testified that he had purchased copies of the manifesto from the Party's New York state headquarters at 207 East Tenth Street. Winitsky's trial commenced on March 19, 1920, before Judge Weeks in the Criminal Branch of the New York Supreme Court and was completed on March 26.Hale, "Criminal Anarchy and Syndicalist Trials," pg. 19. The jury remained out only a few hours before returning with a guilty verdict. On March 29, Judge Weeks passed a sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison, with Winitsky being transported to Dannemora State Penitentiary in Dannemora, New York. An appeal of the case was refused.


Later political career

In October 1921 the Workers' League nominated Benjamin Gitlow and Winitsky as their candidates for
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
and President of the Board of Aldermen respectively. The
New York City Board of Elections The Board of Elections in the City of New York (NYCBOE) conducts New York elections within New York City. It is an administrative body of ten Commissioners, two from each borough upon recommendation by both political parties and then appointed by ...
invalidated both nominations on the grounds that the prospective candidates were convicted criminals and were still imprisoned, and had therefore "been deprived of citizenship." John R. Voorhis, President of the elections board, stated that "We could not possibly permit the names of these men to go on the ballot. It would be a pretty state of affairs to allow felons and criminals to become eligible for office and take their places beside decent men and women." The League sued the Board of Elections, and New York Supreme Court Justice Mullan ordered the Board to restore the candidates' names to the ballot. By the end of October, though, the New York Court of Appeals had reversed the decision, and their names did not appear on the ballot in November. Winitsky was freed on bail in May 1922. Following his release from prison, he became active in the activities of the underground Communist Party of America and in its parallel "legal" organization, the Workers Party of America. Winitsky was a participant in the party's
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
mass organization A mass movement denotes a political party or movement which is supported by large segments of a population. Political movements that typically advocate the creation of a mass movement include the ideologies of communism, fascism, and liberalism. Bo ...
, the
Trade Union Educational League The Trade Union Educational League (TUEL) was established by William Z. Foster in 1920 (through 1928) as a means of uniting radicals within various trade unions for a common plan of action. The group was subsidized by the Communist Internationa ...
, headed by William Z. Foster. Winitsky was a delegate to the ill-fated August 1922 convention of the underground CPA in
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— a gathering raided by state and federal law enforcement authorities. For attending this gathering Winitsky was
indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...
under Michigan's "
Criminal Syndicalism Criminal syndicalism has been defined as a doctrine of criminal acts for political, industrial, and social change. These criminal acts include advocation of crime, sabotage, violence, and other unlawful methods of terrorism. Criminal syndicalism la ...
" statutes, although he was never brought to trial on this charge. Winitsky worked as a manager of the Communist Party's
Yiddish-language Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
daily, '' Morgen Freiheit'' from 1922 to 1923. From 1923 to 1924 Winitsky worked as a functionary for the Federated Farmer-Labor Party, a Communist Party sponsored effort to establish what it termed a "class-based" independent political party. Governor Al Smith pardoned Winitsky on January 7, 1924, stating that "I am satisfied that Winitsky has been sufficiently punished for the crime which he committed, and I have accordingly granted him a pardon." In 1929, Winitsky left the Communist Party USA to cast his lot with expelled party leader
Jay Lovestone Jay Lovestone (15 December 1897 – 7 March 1990) was an American activist. He was at various times a member of the Socialist Party of America, a leader of the Communist Party USA, leader of a small oppositionist party, an anti-Communist and Centr ...
and his so-called Communist Party USA (Majority Group)."Harry Winitsky," ''Workers Age'' ew York vol. 8, no. 38 (September 23, 1939), pg. 3. Winitsky was not long in this organization, however, as a few years later he rejoined the Socialist Party of America, remaining active in that organization until the time of his death.


Death and legacy

At some time before his death in 1939, Winitsky changed his name to Harry Wynn. Winitsky died of heart disease on September 10, 1939, in the
Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 161st Street to the south, and Webster Avenue ...
Hospital in
The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. He had been living at 2690 Morris Avenue. Winitsky was just 41 years old at the time of his death and was survived by his widow and three brothers: Irving, William, and Benjamin Wynn.
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 ...
, frequent Presidential candidate of the Socialist Party, was the chief speaker at Winitsky's funeral, held in New York City.


Footnotes


Works


"Speech by Harry Winitsky, Executive Secretary of the Communist Party of New York: Delivered at a Meeting Held at 175 E Broadway, NYC, December 22, 1919."
Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2005.
"The Facts Speak for Themselves,"
''The Revolutionary Age'' ew York v. 1, no. 8 (Feb. 15, 1930), pp. 14–15. {{DEFAULTSORT:Winitsky, Harry 1898 births Activists from New York City American socialists Members of the Socialist Party of America American Marxists Members of the Communist Party USA 1939 deaths