The International Working People's Association (IWPA), sometimes known as the "Black International," was an international

anarchist 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 necessar ...

political organization established in 1881 at a convention held in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. In America the group is best remembered as the political organization uniting

Albert Parsons Albert Richard Parsons (June 20, 1848 – November 11, 1887) was a pioneering American socialist and later anarchist newspaper editor, orator, and labor activist. As a teenager, he served in the military force of the Confederate States of Americ ...

August Spies August Vincent Theodore Spies (, ; December 10, 1855November 11, 1887) was an American upholsterer, radical labor activist, and newspaper editor. Spies is remembered as one of the anarchists in Chicago who were found guilty of conspiracy to commi ...

, and other anarchist leaders prosecuted in the wake of the 1886 Haymarket bombing in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Organizational history

Origins

The slow pace of progress and limited results managed by the

Socialist Labor Party of America The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

(organized as the "Workingmen's Party" in 1876) during its first years proved frustrating and demoralizing for many Sections of the organization. Absent of significant electoral success, many Sections of the SLP began to debate the question of armed struggle and to organize

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

''Lehr-und-Wehr Vereine'' (Education and Defense Societies).Alan Dawley
"The International Working People's Association,"
The Lucy Parsons Project, http://flag.blackened.net/lpp/ Retrieved August 25, 2013. This movement was particularly strong in the tough industrial center of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, populated by a large number of German-speaking immigrants cognizant of the European revolutionary movement and its German-based propaganda literature.

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 ...

and

revolutionary socialists The Revolutionary Socialists ( ar, الاشتراكيون الثوريون; ) (RS) are a Trotskyist organisation in Egypt originating in the tradition of ' Socialism from Below'. Leading RS members include sociologist Sameh Naguib. The organisat ...

(who in the vernacular of the day called themselves "Social Revolutionists")Morris Hillquit, ''History of Socialism in the United States.'' New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1903; pg. 236. were united by their disdain with electoral politics and piecemeal ameliorative reform. Such tepid changes such as currency reform,

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

reform, state ownership of

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

, and reduction of the

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and p ...

were dismissed as inconsequential. Only through the application of armed force would revolutionary transformation of American society and economy be possible, some believed. Various independent revolutionary clubs were formed. In 1872, the

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

(now known as the "First International") had split, after the anarchist leader

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary s ...

had been expelled by the General Council (whom

Karl Marx 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 ...

directed). During the years 1872-1877 the

St. Imier International The Anarchist International of St. Imier was an international workers' organization formed in 1872 after the split in the First International between the anarchists and the Marxists. This followed the 'expulsions' of Mikhail Bakunin and James G ...

claimed to be the heir of the IWA. In 1881, a congress of anarchist and social revolutionary clubs was held in

aiming to establish a new international organization. This new organization, the International Working People's Association (later known as the "Black International") was intended to provide rallying point around which various national groups could organize themselves. The London gathering was attended by a New York social revolutionary group, which upon returning to America called for a gathering of American revolutionary groups in Chicago.Philip S. Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Volume 2: From the Founding of the AF of L to the Emergence of American Imperialism.'' New York: International Publishers, 1955; pg. 38. The 1881 Chicago convention which followed adopted for itself the name Revolutionary Socialist Party and approved a platform urging the formation of trade unions on "communistic" principles and urging that support only be lent to unions of a "progressive" character. The platform also denounced use of the ballot as a vehicle for revolutionary social change, declaring instead that elections were "an invention of the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...

to fool the workers." Instead, it would be "armed organizations of workingmen who stand ready with the gun to resist encroachment upon their rights" which were pivotal, the platform declared.

In America

A key turning-point came in December 1882 with the arrival in America of

Johann Most Johann Joseph "Hans" Most (February 5, 1846 – March 17, 1906) was a German-American Social Democratic and then anarchist politician, newspaper editor, and orator. He is credited with popularizing the concept of "propaganda of the deed". His g ...

, a former parliamentary representative of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been ...

who had turned to anarchism. Most had just finished up a 16-month term of imprisonment for having glorified the assassination of Russian

Tsar Alexander II Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Fin ...

and urged its emulation in his newspaper, ''Freiheit'' (Freedom). A popular orator and brilliant journalist in the German language, Most's arrival was celebrated by an enthusiastic crowd in the great hall of the Cooper Union Institute in

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 ...

.Hillquit, ''History of Socialism in the United States,'' pg. 237. A tour of the principal industrial cities of America by Most followed in early 1883, a successful venture which led to the formation of a number of new local anarchist "groups". Further aiding the anarchist cause, Most brought with him to New York City his newspaper, ''Freiheit'' (Freedom), which uncompromisingly advocated struggle against state authority, widening the gap between the electorally oriented socialists of the Socialist Labor Party and the burgeoning movement of "Social Revolutionists". The split between the SLP and the social revolutionists and anarchist was formalized in 1883, when the groups held separate conventions, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, respectively. The October 1883 convention of the anarchists and revolutionary socialists held in Pittsburgh was attended by representatives of groups in 26 cities, including among them Johann Most, August Spies, and Albert R. Parsons. It was the Pittsburgh conclave which formally launched the International Working People's Association in America. The convention adopted a manifesto known as the Pittsburgh Proclamation, declaring the organization for "destruction of the existing class rule by all means" and for the establishment of an economic system based upon "free contracts between the autonomous (independent) communes and associations, resting upon a federalistic basis." An "Information Bureau" in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

was established to coordinate the activity of the "loose-knit

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

of autonomous groups" declaring allegiance to the organization. Delegates to the Pittsburgh convention agreed in the efficacy of armed force, but differed as to its function. Eastern delegates surrounding Johann Most argued in favor of the "

propaganda of the deed Propaganda of the deed (or propaganda by the deed, from the French ) is specific political direct action meant to be exemplary to others and serve as a catalyst for revolution. It is primarily associated with acts of violence perpetrated by pro ...

"—individualistic acts of terrorism which would win alienated workers to the anarchist cause through the power of example.Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States,'' vol. 2, pg. 39. Western-based delegates such as Spies and Parsons argued instead for a primary emphasis on work in

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 ...

s as the vehicle for revolutionary change, dismissing the labor movement's obsessive concern with immediate demands but insisting that the

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

of unions would be key in establishing the embryonic production groups of the new society. This mixture of anarchism and

syndicalism Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of prod ...

would be known as the "Chicago Idea".

Growth and decline

The IWPA grew steadily in America from the time of its launch in the fall of 1883, reaching a peak of about 5,000 members."International Working People's Association," in Candace Falk with Barry Pateman and Jessica M. Moran (eds.), ''Emma Goldman: A Documentary History of the American Years: Volume 1: Made for America, 1890-1901.'' Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003; pp. 571-572. The majority of these members were immigrants hailing from Europe, primarily

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The circulation of Most's newspaper, ''Freiheit,'' increased handsomely, while some important German-language newspapers transferred their loyalties from the SLP to the new organization. Meanwhile, the Socialist Labor Party withered on the vine, with its membership plummeting to just 1,500 and its National Secretary,

Philip Van Patten Simon Philip Van Patten (1852–1918) was an American socialist political activist prominent during the latter half of the 1870s and the first half of the 1880s. Van Patten is best remembered for being named the first Corresponding Secretary of ...

, leaving a mysterious suicide note and disappearing, only to reemerge later in another city as a government employee. At its December 1883 Baltimore convention, the SLP took the extraordinary, albeit short-lived, step of abolishing the role of National Secretary altogether and adopting a particularly radical program in hopes of cobbling together some sort of organizational unity with the so-called "Internationalists" of the IWPA.Hillquit, ''History of Socialism in the United States,'' pg. 240. Ultimately, however, the SLP determined that the difference over the question of violence between itself and the IWPA made unification impossible and a polemic war against anarchism was launched. In the aftermath of the 1886 Haymarket bombing and the repression launched against prominent leaders of the American anarchist movement such as English-language newspaper editor

and German-language newspaper editor

, American sections of the IWPA began to disintegrate rapidly.Howard H. Quint, ''The Forging of American Socialism: Origins of the Modern Movement: The Impact of Socialism on American Thought and Action, 1886-1901.'' Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1953; pg. 35. At least a portion of the American anarchist movement, at least one historian believes, came over to the more moderate Socialist Labor Party in the aftermath of the Chicago debacle. The anarchist movement dissipated severely following the execution of the Haymarket leaders in 1887. Although ''The Alarm'' continued to be published in Chicago for a time, sympathizers and advertisers were scared off by the harsh repression and public approbation meted out to the anarchist leaders. A few small anarchist groups survived, however, notably those surrounding Johann Most and

Benjamin Tucker Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (; April 17, 1854 – June 22, 1939) was an American individualist anarchist and libertarian socialist.Martin, James J. (1953)''Men Against the State: The Expositers of Individualist Anarchism in America, 1827–1908''< ...

and their respective newspapers, ''Freiheit'' and ''Liberty,'' published in New York and Boston.

Later revivals

The International Working People's Association (the so-called "Black International") is not to be confused with the

(IWA) established by Burnette G. Haskell and others on July 15, 1881, which borrowed its name from the

First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

. While discussions were held regarding a merger of these two organizations, talks came to naught. Haskell's IWMA (known informally as the "Red International") disappeared at the end of the 1890s. An effort was made to revive the International Working People's Association by a convention of anarchists held in Amsterdam in 1907, but the organization was essentially stillborn. A final move to relaunch the IWPA, more successful than the 1907 effort, was made in December 1921 at another convention of international anarchists held in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

Publications

American newspapers associated with the IWPA

* ''

The Alarm The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh languag ...

,'' Chicago, October 1884-December 1888?. * '' Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung'' (Chicago Workers' News), Chicago, June 1874 – 1924? (Anarchist: 1880-1886). * ''The Labor Enquirer,''

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 1882-1888. * ''Die Fackel'' (The Torch), Chicago, May 1879-October 1919 (Anarchist: 1880-1886). * ''Freedom,'' Chicago, November 1890-May 1892. * ''

Freiheit ' is the German word for both liberty and political freedom. Freiheit may also refer to: Political parties * Freie Demokratische Partei, a liberal party in Germany * South Tyrolean Freedom (', STF), a nationalist political party active in South ...

'' (Freedom), London,

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, New York, Chicago,

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

, and Buffalo, January 1879-August 1910. * ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

,''

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, August 1881-April 1908. * ''Lucifer, the Light-Bearer,''

Valley Falls, Kansas Valley Falls is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,092. History Valley Falls was originally called Grasshopper Falls, from the falls in the Grasshopper River (now known as ...

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

, and Chicago, 1883-June 1907. * ''Truth: A Journal for the Poor,'' San Francisco, 1881-December 1884. * ''Der Vorbote'' (The Harbinger), Chicago, February 1874-April 1924 (Anarchist: 1880-1886). : Sources: Richard T. Ely, ''Recent American Socialism,'' pp. 31, 32, 36. Dirk Hoerder with Christiane Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s: An Annotated Bibliography.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987; Volume 3, pp. 389-390, 407-408, 411-413.

Pamphlet literature

* "'To the Workingmen of America."' Chicago: International Working People's Association, 1883. 4-page leaflet. * ''Victor Hugo! His Two Messages: One to the Rich, the Other to the Poor.'' Chicago?: International Working People's Association, n.d.

880s The 880s decade ran from January 1, 880, to December 31, 889. Significant people * Al-Mu'tamid * Al-Muwaffaq * Charles the Fat * Alfred the Great * Al-Mufawwid * Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz * Basil I Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Β� ...

* William J. Gorsuch, ''Revolt! An American to Americans...'' Allegheny, PA: WPAGroup No. 1, 1885.

Footnotes

External links

* Alan Dawley

The Lucy Parsons Project. Retrieved August 13, 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:International Working People's Association Anarchist organisations in the United Kingdom Anarchist organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1881 Defunct international anarchist organizations Political internationals 1881 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations disestablished in the 1890s 1890s disestablishments in the United States Organizations established in 1907 Organizations disestablished in 1907 Organizations established in 1921 1921 establishments in the United States

Organizational history

Origins

In America

Growth and decline

Later revivals

Publications

American newspapers associated with the IWPA

Pamphlet literature

See also

Key members

Other anarchist internationals and international networks

Footnotes

Further reading

External links