Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
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 ...
Thomas was the oldest of six children, born November 20, 1884, in
Marion, Ohio
Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus.
The population was 35,999 at the 2020 census, slightly down from 36,837 at the ...
, to Emma Williams (née Mattoon) and Weddington Evans Thomas, a Presbyterian minister. Thomas had an uneventful Midwestern childhood and adolescence, helping to put himself through Marion High School as a paper carrier for
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
's ''
Marion Daily Star
''The Marion Star'' (formerly known as ''The Marion Daily Star'') is a newspaper in Marion, Ohio. The paper is owned by the Gannett Newspaper organization, the paper is also notable as having once been owned and published by Warren G. Harding ( ...
''. Like other paper carriers, he reported directly to Florence Kling Harding. "No pennies ever escaped her," said Thomas. The summer after he graduated from high school his father accepted a pastorate at
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,1 ...
, which allowed Norman to attend
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...
. He left Bucknell after one year to attend
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
, the beneficiary of the largesse of a wealthy uncle by marriage. Thomas graduated magna cum laude from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
in 1905.
After some
settlement house
The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...
work and a trip around the world, Thomas decided to follow in his father's footsteps and enrolled in Union Theological Seminary. He graduated from the seminary and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1911. After assisting the Rev. Henry Van Dyke at the fashionable Brick Presbyterian Church on
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's Fifth Avenue, Thomas was appointed pastor of the East Harlem Presbyterian Church, ministering to Italian-American Protestants. Union Theological Seminary had been at that time a center of the Social Gospel movement and liberal politics, and as a minister, Thomas preached against American participation in the First World War. This pacifist stance led to his being shunned by many of his fellow alumni from Princeton, and opposed by some of the leadership of the Presbyterian Church in New York. When church funding of the American Parish's social programs was stopped, Thomas resigned his pastorate.''Current Biography 1945'', p. 688. Despite his resignation, Thomas did not formally leave the ministry until 1931, after his mother's death.
It was Thomas's position as a conscientious objector that drew him to the Socialist Party of America (SPA), a staunchly
antimilitarist
Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especi ...
organization. When SPA 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 ...
made his campaign for
mayor of New York
The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
in 1917 on an antiwar platform, Thomas wrote to him expressing his good wishes. To his surprise, Hillquit wrote back, encouraging the young minister to work for his campaign, which Thomas energetically did. Soon thereafter he himself joined the Socialist Party. Thomas was a
Christian socialist
Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...
.Shannon, ''The Socialist Party of America'', p. 191.
Thomas was the secretary (then an unpaid position) of the pacifist
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...
even before the war. When the organization started a magazine called ''The World Tomorrow'' in January 1918, Thomas was employed as its paid editor. Together with
Devere Allen
Devere Allen (1891–1955) was an American socialist and pacifist political activist and journalist. Allen is best remembered as the main editor of ''The World Tomorrow'' following the departure of Norman Thomas from the magazine in 1922. Alle ...
, Thomas helped to make ''The World Tomorrow'' the leading voice of liberal Christian social activism of its day. In 1921, Thomas moved to secular journalism when he was employed as associate editor of ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'' magazine. In 1922 he became co-director of the
League for Industrial Democracy The League for Industrial Democracy (LID) was founded as a successor to the Intercollegiate Socialist Society in 1921. Members decided to change its name to reflect a more inclusive and more organizational perspective.
Background Intercollegiate So ...
. Later, he was one of the founders of the
National Civil Liberties Bureau The National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB) was an American civil rights organization founded in 1917, dedicated to opposing World War I, and specifically focusing on assisting conscientious objectors.
The National Civil Liberties Bureau was the re ...
, the precursor of the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
.
Electoral politics
Thomas ran for office five times in quick succession on the Socialist ticket—for governor of New York in
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
, for mayor of New York in
1925
Events January
* January 1
** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria.
* January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...
alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
in 1927, and for mayor of New York again in 1929. In
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
, he ran for the US Senate in New York and polled almost 200,000 votes, then the second-best result for a Socialist candidate in New York state elections; only
Charles P. Steinmetz
Charles Proteus Steinmetz (born Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz, April 9, 1865 – October 26, 1923) was a German-born American mathematician and electrical engineer and professor at Union College. He fostered the development of alternating ...
polled more votes, almost 300,000 in
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...
when he ran for State Engineer.
Thomas's political activity also included attempts at the US presidency. Following
Eugene Debs
Eugene may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
's death in 1926, there was a leadership vacuum in the Socialist Party. Neither of the party's two top political leaders,
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 ...
and Hillquit, was eligible to run for president because of their foreign birth. The third main figure,
Daniel Hoan
Daniel Webster Hoan (March 12, 1881 – June 11, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 32nd Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1940. A lawyer who had served as Milwaukee City Attorney from 1910 to 1916, Hoan was a promin ...
, was occupied as mayor of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
. Down to approximately 8,000 dues-paying members, the Socialist Party's options were limited, and the little-known minister from New York with oratorial skills and a pedigree in the movement became the choice of the 1928 National Convention of the Socialist Party.
The 1928 campaign was the first of Thomas's six consecutive campaigns as the presidential nominee of the Socialist Party. As an articulate and engaging spokesman for democratic socialism, Thomas had considerably greater influence than the typical
perennial candidate
A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...
. Although most upper- and middle-class Americans found socialism unsavory, the well-educated Thomas—who often wore three-piece suits and looked and talked like a president—gained grudging admiration.
Thomas frequently spoke on the difference between socialism, the movement he represented, and
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
and revolutionary
Marxism
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...
. His early admiration for the Russian Revolution had turned into energetic
anti-Stalinism
The anti-Stalinist left is an umbrella term for various kinds of left-wing political movements that opposed Joseph Stalin, Stalinism and the actual system of governance Stalin implemented as leader of the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1953. T ...
. (Some revolutionaries thought him no better;
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 ...
criticized Thomas on more than one occasion.)
He wrote several books, among them his passionate defense of World War I conscientious objectors, ''Is Conscience a Crime?'', and his statement of the 1960s social democratic consensus, ''Socialism Re-examined''.
Socialist Party politics
At the 1932 Milwaukee Convention, Thomas and his radical pacifist allies in the party joined forces with constructive socialists from Wisconsin and a faction of young Marxist intellectuals called the "Militants" in backing a challenger to National Chairman Morris Hillquit. While Hillquit and his cohort retained control of the organization at this time, this action earned the lasting enmity of Hillquit's New York-based allies of the so-called "Old Guard". The diplomatic party peacemaker Hillquit died of tuberculosis the following year, lessening the stability of his faction.
At the 1934 National Convention of the Socialist Party, Thomas's connection with the Militants deepened when he backed a radical
Declaration of Principles
The Oslo I Accord or Oslo I, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or short Declaration of Principles (DOP), was an attempt in 1993 to set up a framework that would lead to the resolution of th ...
authored by his longtime associate from the radical pacifist journal ''The World Tomorrow'',
Devere Allen
Devere Allen (1891–1955) was an American socialist and pacifist political activist and journalist. Allen is best remembered as the main editor of ''The World Tomorrow'' following the departure of Norman Thomas from the magazine in 1922. Alle ...
. The Militants swept to majority control of the party's governing National Executive Committee at this gathering, and the Old Guard retreated to their New York fortress and formalized their factional organization as the
Committee for the Preservation of the Socialist Party The Committee for the Preservation of the Socialist Party was a short-lived organized factional grouping in the Socialist Party of America established in 1934 by its New York-based "Old Guard" faction. The Committee was initially organized to figh ...
, complete with a shadow Provisional Executive Committee and an office in New York City.
Thomas favored work to establish a broad Farmer–Labor Party upon the model of the Canadian
Cooperative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...
, but remained supportive of the Militants and their vision of an "all-inclusive party", which welcomed members of dissident communist organizations (including
Lovestoneites
The Lovestoneites, led by former General Secretary of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) Jay Lovestone, were a small American oppositionist Communism, communist movement of the 1930s. The organization emerged from a factional fight in the CPUSA in 19 ...
and
Trotskyists
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 re ...
Popular Front
A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault".
More generally, it is "a coalition ...
activities. The party descended into a maelstrom of factionalism in the interval, with the New York Old Guard leaving to establish themselves as the Social Democratic Federation of America, taking with them control of party property, such as the
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 ...
''
The Jewish Daily Forward
''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, '' ...
'', the English-language ''
New Leader
''The New Leader'' (1924–2010) was an American political and cultural magazine.
History
''The New Leader'' began in 1924 under a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, such as Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It was p ...
'', the
Rand School of Social Science
The Rand School of Social Science was formed in 1906 in New York City by adherents of the Socialist Party of America. The school aimed to provide a broad education to workers, imparting a politicizing class-consciousness, and additionally served a ...
, and the party's summer camp in Pennsylvania.
In 1937, Thomas returned from Europe determined to restore order in the Socialist Party. He and his followers in the party teamed up with the Clarity majority of the National Executive Committee and gave the green light to the New York Right Wing to expel the Appeal faction from the organization. These expulsions led to the departure of virtually the whole of the party's youth section, who affiliated to the new Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party. Demoralization set in and the Socialist Party withered, its membership level below that of 1928.
Causes
Thomas was initially as outspoken in opposing
the Second World War
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 ...
as he had been with regard to the First World War. Upon returning from a European tour in 1937, he formed the Keep America Out of War Congress, and spoke against war, thereby sharing a platform with the non-interventionist
America First Committee
The America First Committee (AFC) was the foremost United States isolationist pressure group against American entry into World War II. Launched in September 1940, it surpassed 800,000 members in 450 chapters at its peak. The AFC principally supp ...
. In the 1940 presidential campaign he said Republican
Wendell Willkie
Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...
was the candidate of "the Wall Street war machine" and that he "would take us to war about as fast and about on the same terms as Mr. Roosevelt".
In testimony to Congress in January 1941 he opposed the proposed
Lend Lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
program of sending military supplies to Great Britain, calling it "a bill to authorize undeclared war in the name of peace, and dictatorship in the name of defending democracy". He said that the survival of the British Empire was not vital to the security of the United States, but added that he favored helping Britain to defend herself against aggression.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, a bitter split took place in the Socialist Party regarding support for the war; Thomas reluctantly supported it, though he thought it could have been honorably avoided. His brother and many others continued their pacifist opposition to all wars. Thomas later wrote self-critically that he had "overemphasized both the sense in which it was a continuance of World War I and the capacity of nonfascist Europe to resist the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
s".
Thomas was one of the few public figures to oppose President Roosevelt'sincarceration of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He accused the ACLU of "dereliction of duty" when the organization supported the forced mass removal and incarceration. Thomas also campaigned against
racial segregation
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
, environmental depletion, and anti-labor laws and practices, and in favor of opening the United States to Jewish victims of Nazi persecution in the 1930s.
Thomas was an early proponent of birth control. The birth-control advocate Margaret Sanger recruited him to write "Some Objections to Birth Control Considered" in ''Religious and Ethical Aspects of Birth Control'', edited and published by Sanger in 1926. Thomas accused the Catholic Church of hypocritical opinions on sex, such as requiring priests to be celibate and maintaining that laypeople should have sex only to reproduce. "This doctrine of unrestricted procreation is strangely inconsistent on the lips of men who practice celibacy and preach continence."
Thomas also deplored the secular objection to birth control because it originated from "racial and national" group-think. "The white race, we are told, our own nation—whatever that nation may be—is endangered by practicing birth control. Birth control is something like disarmament—a good thing if effected by international agreement, but otherwise dangerous to us in both a military and economic sense. If we are not to be overwhelmed by the 'rising tide of color' we must breed against the world. If our nation is to survive, it must have more cannon and more babies as prospective food for the cannon."
Thomas was also very critical of
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
American Council for Judaism
The American Council for Judaism (ACJ) is an organization of American Jews. In particular, it is notable for its historical opposition to Zionism, though it is Zionist today. The ACJ has also championed women's rights, including the right for women ...
.
Later years
After 1945, Thomas sought to make the anti-Stalinist left the leader of social reform, in collaboration with labor leaders like
Walter Reuther
Walter Philip Reuther (; September 1, 1907 – May 9, 1970) was an American leader of organized labor and civil rights activist who built the United Automobile Workers (UAW) into one of the most progressive labor unions in American history. He ...
. In 1961, he released an album, ''The Minority Party in America: Featuring an Interview with Norman Thomas'', on Folkways Records, which focused on the role of the third party.
Thomas's 80th birthday in 1964 was marked by a well-publicized gala at the
Hotel Astor
Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway, Shubert Alley, and 44th and 45th Str ...
in Manhattan. At the event Thomas called for a cease-fire in Vietnam and read birthday telegrams from
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
He also received a check for $17,500 () in donations from supporters. "It won't last long," he said of the check, "because every organization I'm connected with is going bankrupt."
In 1966, the conservative journalist and writer William F. Buckley, Jr chose Thomas to be the third guest on Buckley's new television interview show, '' Firing Line''. In 1968, Thomas signed the "
Writers and Editors War Tax Protest
Tax resistance, the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. It has been suggested that tax resistance played a significant role in the collapse of ...
" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
.
Also in 1966, Thomas traveled to the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
along with future Congressman
Allard K. Lowenstein
Allard Kenneth Lowenstein (January 16, 1929 – March 14, 1980)Lowenstein's gravestone, Arlington National Cemeteryphoto onlineon the cemetery's official website. Accessed online 28 October 2006.general election. The two were leaders of the "Committee on free elections in the Dominican Republic", an organization based in the United States that monitored the election. In the autumn of that year, Thomas received the second Eugene V. Debs Award for his work in promoting world peace.
Personal life
In 1910, Thomas married Frances Violet Stewart (1881–1947), the granddaughter of
John Aikman Stewart
John Aikman Stewart (August 26, 1822 – December 18, 1926) was a New York City banker who during the administration of Grover Cleveland replenished the nation's gold supply by issuing new bonds. He was also the third person in its history to serv ...
, financial adviser to Presidents
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
and
Cleveland
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. ...
, and a trustee of Princeton for many years. Together, they had three daughters and two sons:
* Mary "Polly" Thomas (1914–2010), who married Herbert C. Miller Jr, a professor and chairman of pediatrics at 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. T ...
* Frances Thomas (1915–2015), who married John W. Gates, Jr. (died 2006)
* Rebekah Thomas (1918–1986), who married John D. Friebely
* William Stewart Thomas (b. 1912)
* Evan Welling Thomas II (1920–1999), who married Anna Davis (née Robins) in 1943
** Evan Welling Thomas III (b. 1951)
Death
Thomas died at the age of 84 on December 19, 1968, in Huntington, New York. Pursuant to his wishes, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered on Long Island.
Legacy
The
Norman Thomas High School
The Norman Thomas High School for Business and Commercial Education was a public high school (closed in June 2014) in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City under the New York City Department of Education. Formerly known as Centr ...
(formerly known as Central Commercial High School) in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and the Norman Thomas '05 Library at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
's
Forbes College
The Malcolm S. Forbes Jr. '70 College is one of the six residential colleges that house all freshmen and sophomores at Princeton University. The College was a gift to the school by Malcolm S. Forbes Sr. '41 in 1984 in honor of his son, Steve. ...
are named after him, as is the assembly hall at the
Three Arrows Cooperative Society
Three Arrows Cooperative Society is a cooperative summer colony located in Putnam Valley, NY. It was founded in 1936 by members of the Young People's Socialist League, from whence its name and emblem derive. The Society owns 125 acres of land ...
, where he was a frequent visitor. He is also the grandfather of ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' columnist
Evan Thomas
Evan Welling Thomas III (born April 25, 1951) is an American journalist, historian, and author. He is the author of nine books, including two ''New York Times'' bestsellers.
Early life and career
Thomas was born in Huntington, New York, and r ...
and the great-grandfather of writer
Louisa Thomas
Louisa Thomas (born 1981) is an American writer and sports journalist.
Life
Thomas is the daughter of journalist and ''Newsweek'' editor Evan Thomas and Washington, D.C. attorney Oscie Thomas.
Thomas graduated from Harvard University. She is ...
.
A plaque in the Norman Thomas '05 Library reads: Norman M. Thomas, class of 1905. "I am not the champion of lost causes, but the champion of causes not yet won."
National Civil Liberties Bureau The National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB) was an American civil rights organization founded in 1917, dedicated to opposing World War I, and specifically focusing on assisting conscientious objectors.
The National Civil Liberties Bureau was the re ...
1918
* ''The Conscientious Objector in America''. New York:
B. W. Huebsch
Benjamin W. Huebsch (March 21, 1876 – August 7, 1964) was an American publisher in New York City in the early 20th century.
Background
Huebsch was the son of Rabbi Adolphus Huebsch, who had immigrated to the United States from Hungary in 1866 ...
, 1923.
* ''The League of Nations and the Imperialist Principle: A Criticism''. New York:
Foreign Policy Association
The Foreign Policy Association (formerly known as the League of Free Nations Association) is a non-profit organization founded in 1918 dedicated to inspiring the American public to learn more about the world. The Foreign Policy Association aims to ...
, 1923.
* ''What Is Industrial Democracy?'' New York:
League for Industrial Democracy The League for Industrial Democracy (LID) was founded as a successor to the Intercollegiate Socialist Society in 1921. Members decided to change its name to reflect a more inclusive and more organizational perspective.
Background Intercollegiate So ...
, 1925.
* ''The Challenge of War: An Economic Interpretation''. New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1927.
* ''Is Conscience a Crime?'' New York:
Vanguard Press
The Vanguard Press (1926–1988) was a United States publishing house established with a $100,000 grant from the left wing American Fund for Public Service, better known as the Garland Fund. Throughout the 1920s, Vanguard Press issued an array of ...
, 1927.
* ''In the League and Out''. New York: Foreign Policy Association, 1930.
* ''America's Way Out: A Program for Democracy''. New York: Macmillan, 1931.
* ''Socialism and the Individual''. Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius Publications, 1931.
* ''The Socialist Cure for a Sick Society''. New York:
John Day Company
The John Day Company was a New York publishing firm that specialized in illustrated fiction and current affairs books and pamphlets from 1926 to 1968. It was founded by Richard J. Walsh in 1926 and named after John Day, the Elizabethan printer. W ...
, 1932.
* ''As I See It''. New York: Macmillan, 1932.
''Why I Am a Socialist'' New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1932.
* ''What Socialism Is and Is Not''. Chicago: Socialist Party of America, 1932.
''What's the Matter with New York: A National Problem'' With Paul Blanshard. New York: Macmillan, 1932.
* ''A Socialist Looks at the New Deal''. New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1933.
* ''The New Deal: A Socialist Analysis''. Chicago: Committee on Education and Research of the Socialist Party of America, 1934.
* ''Human Exploitation in the United States''. New York:
Frederick A. Stokes
Frederick Abbott Stokes (November 4, 1857 – November 15, 1939) was an American publisher, founder and long-time head of the eponymous Frederick A. Stokes Company.
Biography
Stokes graduated from Yale Law School in 1879. He worked at Dodd, Mea ...
, 1934.
* ''The Choice Before Us''. New York: Macmillan, 1934. (UK title: ''Fascism or Socialism?'')
''The Plight of the Share Cropper'' New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1934.
* ''War – No Glory, No Profit, No Need''. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1935.
''War As a Socialist Sees It'' New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1936.
* ''After the New Deal – What?'' New York: Macmillan, 1936.
''Debate: Which Road for American Workers – Socialist or Communist?'' New York: Socialist Call, 1936.
New York: National Office, Socialist Party, n.d. . 1936 ''Why I Am a Socialist'' New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1936.
* ''Shall labor support Roosevelt?'' Chicago : Labor League for Thomas and Nelson, 1936.
* ''Emancipate youth from toil, old age from fear'', Chicago: Socialist Party, 1936.
* ''You Can't Cure Tuberculosis with Cough Drops''. New York: Socialist Party, n.d.
936
Year 936 ( CMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* June 19 – At Laon, Louis IV, the 14-year old son of the late King Charles the Simp ...
Devere Allen
Devere Allen (1891–1955) was an American socialist and pacifist political activist and journalist. Allen is best remembered as the main editor of ''The World Tomorrow'' following the departure of Norman Thomas from the magazine in 1922. Alle ...
. Chicago: Socialist Party, n.d. . 1938
* ''Collective Security Means War''. Chicago: Socialist Party, 1938.
* ''Keep America Out of War: A Program''. With Bertram D. Wolfe. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1939.
''Russia: Democracy or Dictatorship?'' With
Joel Seidman
Joel I. Seidman (1906-1977) was a 20th-century economics professor and Socialist Party of America, Socialist, best known for his 1932 dissertation and book ''The Yellow dog contract, Yellow Dog Contract'' as well as work with Brookwood Labor Coll ...
Workers' Defense League The Workers' Defense League is an American socialist organization devoted to promoting labor rights. The group was founded on August 29, 1936 with the endorsement of Norman Thomas, six-time presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of America. T ...
, 1939.
* ''Stop the Draft : An Appeal to the American People''. New York: Socialist National Headquarters, 1940.
* ''We Have a Future''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1941.
* ''World Federation: What Are the Difficulties?'' New York: Post War World Council, 1942.
''Democracy and Japanese Americans'' New York: Post War World Council, 1942.
* ''Martin Dies and Socialism''. New York: Socialist Party, n.d. . 1943
* ''Victory's Victims? The Negro's Future''. With A. Philip Randolph. Socialist Party, n.d. . 1943
* ''What Is Our Destiny?'' Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1944.
* ''Conscription: The Test of Peace''. New York: Post War World Council, 1944.
* Russia: Promise and Performance. ' New York: Socialist Party, 1945.
* ''A socialist looks at the United Nations'' Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1945.
* ''An Appeal to the Nations''. New York: Socialist Party, 1947.
* ''The One Hope of Peace: Universal Disarmament Under International Control''. New York: Post War World Council, 1947.
* ''Why I am a candidate'' New York: Socialist Party, 1948.
* How Can the Socialist Party Best Serve Socialism? An Argument in Support of the Position of the Majority of the National Executive Committee Concerning Electoral Activities. ' ew Yorkocialist Party 1949.
* ''A Socialist's Faith''. New York: W. W. Norton, 1951.
* Democratic Socialism: A New Appraisal. ' New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1953.
* ''The Test of Freedom''. New York: W. W. Norton, 1954.
* ''Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen... Reflections on Public Speaking''. New York: Hermitage House, 1955.
* ''The Prerequisites for Peace''. New York: W. W. Norton, 1959.
* ''Great Dissenters''. New York: W.W. Norton, 1961.
* ''Eugene V. Debs in the Light of History''. Terre Haute, IN: Eugene V. Debs Foundation, 1964.
* ''Socialism Re-Examined''. New York: W. W. Norton, 1963.
References
Further reading
* Fleischmann, Harry, ''Norman Thomas: A Biography''. New York, Norton & Co., 1964.
* Hyfler, Robert, ''Prophets of the Left: American Socialist Thought in the Twentieth Century''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984.
* Gregory, Raymond F., ''Norman Thomas: The Great Dissenter.'' Sanford, NC: Algora Publishing, 2008.
* Johnpoll, Bernard K., ''Pacifists Progress: Norman Thomas and the Decline of American Socialism''. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1970.
* Seidler, Murray B., ''Norman Thomas: Respectable Rebel''. Binghamton, New York, Syracuse University Press, 1967. Second Edition.
* Swanberg, W. A., ''Norman Thomas: The Last Idealist''. New York, Charles Scribner and Sons, 1976.
* Thomas, Louisa, ''Conscience: Two Soldiers, Two Pacifists, One Family – A Test of Will and Faith in World War I''. New York, The Penguin Press, 2011.
* Venkataramani, M.S., "Norman Thomas, Arkansas Sharecroppers, and the Roosevelt Agricultural Policies, 1933–1937", ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', vol. 47, no. 2 (Sept. 1960), pp. 225–46. .
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