Otto Franklin Branstetter (1877–1924) was an American socialist official. Branstetter served as executive secretary of National Executive Committee 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 ...

from 1919 until shortly before his death in 1924. Branstetter was a private in Company G, 3rd Missouri Infantry in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

in 1898. In 1921, Branstetter was a prominent founding member of the secular Jewish

Yiddish 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 ...

-oriented political organization, the

Jewish Socialist Verband The Jewish Socialist Verband (JSV) was a secular Jewish Yiddish-oriented organization founded in the United States of America in 1921 as a result of a political split in the Jewish Socialist Federation (JSF) regarding the Federation's position in s ...

. In 1921, Branstetter was a lead organizer against the communist-affiliated left wing within the Socialist Party when he introduced a resolution that called for the expulsion of SPA members who supported the Communist International (comintern). On February 1, 1924, Branstetter submitted his resignation to the National Executive Committee, calling himself tired and worn out,". He was replaced by his assistant,

Bertha Hale White Bertha Hale White, was a teacher and journalist, and a prominent functionary of the Socialist Party of America. After serving for more than a decade in the party's National Office, in February 1924 White was named Executive Secretary of the SPA, b ...

. Otto and his wife,

Winnie Branstetter Winnie Estelle Branstetter (March 19, 1879November 15, 1960) was an American suffragette, writer, and Socialist Party of America politician. Branstetter organized for the Socialist Party of America in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Illinois, serving as ...

, married in 1899 and moved to

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

in 1904. They had two children, Gertrude and Theresa. Otto's wife, Winnie, was also a socialist organizer as well as a prominent

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

. She died in Providence, Rhode Island on November 15, 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branstetter, Otto 1877 births 1924 deaths Deaths by drowning in the United States Socialist Party of America politicians from Oklahoma Executive Secretaries of the Socialist Party of America Jewish socialists