The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of th

adopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2001, 2005 and 2007) (cited February 18, 2016). is the first

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 party in the United States American electoral politics have been dominated by two major political parties since shortly after the founding of the republic of the United States of America. Since the 1850s, the two have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party� ...

, established in 1876. Originally known as the

Workingmen's Party of the United States The Workingmen's Party of the United States (WPUS), established in 1876, was one of the first Marxist-influenced political parties in the United States. It is remembered as the forerunner of the Socialist Labor Party of America. Organizational h ...

, the party changed its name in 1877 to Socialistic Labor PartySocialistic Labor Party. Platform, Constitution, and Resolutions, Adopted at the National Congress of the Workingmen's Party of the United States, Held at Newark, New Jersey, December 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 1877. Together with a condensed report of the Congress Proceedings
(Ohio Volks-Zeitung: Cincinnati, Ohio, 1878), pp. 26–27. and again sometime in the late 1880s to Socialist Labor Party.While th
1885 constitution and platform
uses the term "socialistic" in the party name, th
1890 constitution and platform
uses the term "socialist" in the party name. As both of these sources appear to be scans of original documents, it is safe to assume that this second name change necessarily occurred somewhere between 1885 and 1890. Unfortunately, the other sources provided by the SLP are not original scans and must be taken with a grain of salt. Th
Report of the Proceedings of the Sixth National Convention of the Socialistic Labor Party, Held at Buffalo, New York, September 17, 19, 20 & 21, 1887
(New York Labor News Company: New York, September 1887) would seem to indicate that party was still calling itself the Socialistic Labor Party in that year. While the majority of the .pdf is not an original scan, the cover page is. Yet, th
1887 platform
(which is in no part an original scan) would seem to indicate that the party was calling itself the ''Socialist'' Labor Party by 1887. Likewise, the 1889 platform (reported i
this non-scan copy
of the ''Workmen's Advocate'' on October 26, 1889) employs the name Socialist Labor Party. The party was additionally known in some states as the Industrial Party or Industrial Government Party. In 1890, the SLP came under the influence of

Daniel De Leon Daniel De Leon (; December 14, 1852 – May 11, 1914), alternatively spelt Daniel de León, was a Curaçaoan-American socialist newspaper editor, politician, Marxist theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarded as the forefather o ...

, who used his role as editor of '' The Weekly People'', the SLP's English-language official organ, to expand the party's popularity beyond its then largely German-speaking membership. Despite his accomplishments, De Leon was a polarizing figure among the SLP's membership. In 1899, his opponents left the SLP and merged with the

Social Democratic Party of America The Social Democratic Party of America (SDP) was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1898. The group was formed out of elements of the Social Democracy of America (SDA) and was a predecessor to the Socialist Party of ...

to form 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 ...

. After his death in 1914, De Leon was followed as national secretary by

Arnold Petersen Arnold Petersen (April 16, 1885 – February 5, 1976) was the National Secretary of the Socialist Labor Party of America from 1914 to 1969. Petersen played a major role as spokesman for that party and as a promoter of the De Leonist version of Mar ...

. Critical of both the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and the reformism of the Socialist Party of America, the SLP became increasingly isolated from the majority of the

American Left The American Left consists of individuals and groups that have sought egalitarian changes in the economic, political and cultural institutions of the United States. Various subgroups with a national scope are active. Liberals and progressives b ...

. Its support increased in the 1950s and into the early 1960s, when

Eric Hass Eric Hass (March 4, 1905 – October 2, 1980) was a four-time Socialist Labor candidate for President of the United States. Life Hass was of German and Danish ancestry, and was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1905. He died of a heart attack in ...

was influential in the party, but slightly declined in the mid 1960s. The SLP experienced another increase in support in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but then subsequently declined at a fast rate with the party last nominating a candidate for president in 1976. In 2008, the party closed its national office and the party's newspaper ''

The People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

'' ceased publications in 2011. The party has since become dormant. The party advocates "socialist

industrial unionism Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

", the belief in a fundamental transformation of society through the combined political and industrial action of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

organized in

industrial unions Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

Organizational history

Forerunners and origins

In 1872, the

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, a European-based international organization for a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist political groups and trade union organizations, moved its headquarters to New York City. It was in a weakened and disorganized state, having recently suffered a bitter internal struggle between Marxists, who supported trade union organization as preliminary to workers' revolution and anarchists, led by

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 ...

, who advocated the immediate revolutionary overthrow of organized government. In 1874, the members of the American-based International, led by cigarmaker

Adolph Strasser Adolph Strasser (1843-1939), born in the Austro-Hungarian empire, was an American trade union organizer. Strasser is best remembered as a founder of the United Cigarmakers Union and the American Federation of Labor (AF of L). Strasser was additiona ...

and carpenter

Peter J. McGuire Peter J. McGuire (July 6, 1852 – February 18, 1906) was an American labor leader of the nineteenth century. He co-founded the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America in 1881 along with Gustav Luebkert and became one of the leading ...

joined forces with socialists from Newark and Philadelphia to form the ephemeral Social-Democratic Party of North America, the first

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

political party in the United States. 1877-slp-congress

Despite these organizational efforts, the socialist movement in America remained deeply divided over tactics. German immigrants preferred the parliamentary approach employed by

Ferdinand Lassalle Ferdinand Lassalle (; 11 April 1825 – 31 August 1864) was a Prussian-German jurist, philosopher, socialist and political activist best remembered as the initiator of the social democratic movement in Germany. "Lassalle was the first man in Ger ...

and the fledgling

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 the ...

while longer-term residents of America usually supported a

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 ( ...

orientation. In April 1876, a preliminary conference took place in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 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 ...

bringing together representatives of the union-oriented "Internationalists" and the electorally oriented "

Lassallean The General German Workers' Association (german: Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiter-Verein, ADAV) was a German political party founded on 23 May 1863 in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony by Ferdinand Lassalle. It was the first organized mass working-class ...

s". The gathering agreed to issue a call for a Unity Congress to be held in July to establish a new political party. On Saturday, July 15, 1876, delegates from the remaining American sections of the First International gathered in Philadelphia and disbanded that organization. The following Wednesday, July 19, the planned Unity Congress was convened, attended by seven delegates claiming to represent a membership of 3,000 in four organizations: the trade union-oriented

Marxists 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 dialectic ...

of the now-disbanded International, and three

groups—the Workingmen's Party of Illinois, the Social Political Workingmen's Society of Cincinnati and the Social-Democratic Party of North America.Girard and Perry, ''The Socialist Labor Party'', pg. 4. The organization formed by this Unity Convention was known as the

(WPUS), and the native English-speaking

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 t ...

was elected as the party's first "Corresponding Secretary", the official in charge of the day-to-day operations of the party. A number of socialist newspapers also emerged around this time, all privately owned, including

Paul Grottkau Paul Grottkau (1846–1898) was a German-American socialist political activist and newspaper publisher. Grottkau is best remembered as an editor alongside Haymarket affair victim August Spies of the '' Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung,'' one of the lea ...

's '' Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung'', Joseph Brucker's ''Milwaukee Socialist'' and an English-language weekly also published in Milwaukee called ''The Emancipator.''Heath, ''Social Democracy Red Book'', pg. 33. German émigrés dominated the organization, although in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 ...

and G.A. Schilling maintained an active English-speaking section. In 1877, the Workingmen's Party met at

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Ross, Jack (2015)
''The Socialist Party of America''
In the 1879 Chicago mayoral election, the party's nominee received more than 20% of the vote. There was an upsurge of support for the new organization, reflected in the proliferation of the socialist press. Between 1876 and 1877, no fewer than 24 newspapers were established which either directly or indirectly supported the SLP.Morris Hillquit, ''HIstory of Socialism in the United States''. New York: Funk and Wagnall Co., 1903; pg. 225. Eight of these were English-language publications, including one daily, while 14 were in German, including seven dailies. Two more papers were published in Czech and Swedish, respectively. Just two years later, in the wake of an economic crisis, not one of the privately owned English newspapers had survived.Hillquit, ''HIstory of Socialism in the United States'', pg. 227. In 1878, the party established its own English-language paper, ''The National Socialist,'' but managed to keep the publication alive only one year. The year 1878 saw the establishment of a more enduring newspaper: the German-language ''

New Yorker Volkszeitung ''New Yorker Volkszeitung'' was the longest-running German language daily labor newspaper in the United States of America, established in 1878 and suspending publication in October 1932. At the time of its demise during the Great Depression the ' ...

'' (''New York People's News''). The ''Volkszeitung'' included material by the best and the brightest of the German-American socialist movement, including

Alexander Jonas Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

Adolph Douai Karl Daniel Adolf Douai (1819 – 1888), known to his peers as "Adolf", was a German Texan teacher as well as a socialist and abolitionist newspaper editor. Douai was driven from Texas in 1856 due to his published opposition of slavery, living out ...

, and

Sergei Shevitch Sergei Egorovich Shevitch (spelled variously, c. 1847-1911) (Russian: Сергей Егорович Шевич) was a Russian newspaper editor and socialism, socialist political activist who achieved his greatest fame in the United States of Ameri ...

and Herman Schlüter; and quickly emerged as the leading voice of the SLP during the last decades of the 19th century. About this same time, the American anarchist movement gained strength, fueled by the

economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...

and strike wave of 1877. As socialist

Frederic Heath Frederic Faries Heath (1864–1954) was an American socialist politician and journalist who was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party of America in 1897 and the Socialist Party of America in 1901. He was an elected official in Wisconsin ...

recounted in 1900:

The line between Anarchism and Socialism was not at this time sharply drawn in the Socialist organizations, in spite of the fact of their being opposites. Both being critics and denouncers of the present system, however, they were able to work together. As a result of the brutalities of the
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
and regulars in the railway strikes of 1877, a new plan was devised by the Chicago agitators. This found expression in the
Lehr und Wehr Verein The ''Lehr und Wehr Verein'' ("Educational and Defense Society") was a socialist military organization founded in 1875, in Chicago, Illinois. The group had been formed to counter the armed private armies of companies in Chicago. The ''Lehr und W ...
(teaching and defense society), an armed and drilled body of workmen pledged to protect the workers against the militia in a strike. ... The arms-bearing tactics were opposed by the Executive Committee of the SLP, the Secretary of which was Philip van Patten. A fight ensued between the ''Verbote'', which was the weekly edition of the ''Arbeiter Zeitung'', of Chicago, and the ''Labor Bulletin'', the official party organ which Patten edited.

The SLP suffered its first split in 1878. Members who were displeased with the exclusively political actionist turn of the party who wanted the group to focus more on organizing workers formed the

International Labor Union The International Labor Union was a trade union in the northeastern United States from 1878-1887. The ILU was founded by members of the Workingmen's Party of the United States who were upset with the parties turn toward political action after t ...

. Members were not barred from belonging to both, but there was still some animosity between the two organizations. Amidst economic crisis and factional squabbling, membership in the SLP plummeted. As the 1870s drew to a close, the Socialistic Labor Party could count about 2,600 members—with at least one estimate substantially lower.Hillquit, ''History of Socialism in the United States'', pg. 228.

In the 1880s

The years 1880 and 1881 saw a new influx of political refugees from Germany, activists in the socialist movement fleeing the crackdown on radicalism launched with the

Anti-Socialist Laws The Anti-Socialist Laws or Socialist Laws (german: Sozialistengesetze; officially , approximately "Law against the public danger of Social Democratic endeavours") were a series of acts of the parliament of the German Empire, the first of which was ...

of 1878. This influx of new German members, coming during a time of low ebb of the English-speaking membership, extended Germanic influence in the SLP. Excluded from the voting booth by their lack of citizenship status, many of the newcomers had little use for electoral politics. An SLP German militia sued on

Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

grounds to keep and bear arms in Chicago parades. However, the Supreme Court ruled against them in ''

Presser v. Illinois ''Presser v. Illinois'', 116 U.S. 252 (1886), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that held, "Unless restrained by their own constitutions, state legislatures may enact statutes to control and regulate all organization ...

''. The

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 neces ...

movement expanded rapidly with the debate over tactics between the electorally-oriented socialists and 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 ...

-oriented anarchists becoming ever more bitter. The 1881 SLP Convention in New York saw some of the party's anarchist members and one New York section split from the party to form a new party called the

Revolutionary Socialist Labor Party Revolutionary Socialist Labor Party, a radical split from the Socialist Labor Party in the United States. RSLP was formed in 1881 by anarchist-oriented elements of the SLP that had rallied around 'Revolutionary Clubs'. In 1883 it merged with oth ...

as part of an

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 ...

. The official organ of this short-lived

splinter group A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

was a newspaper called ''The Anarchist''. In 1882,

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

, a former German Social Democrat turned Anarchist firebrand, came to the United States, further fueling the growth and militancy of the American anarchist movement. The SLP further divided the next year when Marxist Paul Grottkau was forced by the anarchists to resign as editor of the Chicago daily, the ''Arbeiter Zeitung.'' In his place

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 ...

was installed, a man later executed as part of the anti-anarchist repression which followed the

Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square (C ...

of May 1886. After a brief honeymoon period in the late 1870s had run its course, the SLP saw the departure of most of its English-speaking members. The party's English-language organ, ''Bulletin of the Social Labor Movement'', appeared monthly from Detroit in the shadow of the powerful Chicago German-language radical press until it was finally discontinued altogether at the end of 1883. The party was so thoroughly German that it published the stenographic proceedings of its 1884 and 1885 National Conventions only in that language. From 1885, the official organ of the party was a German-language weekly, ''Der Sozialist''. No English-language SLP organ existed from the demise of the Bulletin in 1883 to the establishment of the ''Workingmen's Advocate'' in 1886. The party's membership situation was so dismal that the English-speaking Corresponding Secretary of the organization, Philip Van Patten, left a suicide note in April 1883 and mysteriously disappeared. He later surfaced as a government employee, a socialist oppositionist no more. Membership in the organization atrophied to just 1,500 by 1883. What growth there was among the American radical movement was experienced by the rival anarchist organization, the

International Working People's Association The International Working People's Association (IWPA), sometimes known as the "Black International," was an international anarchist political organization established in 1881 at a convention held in London, England. In America the group is best ...

(IWPA), also sometimes referred to as the International Workingmen's Association. A split between the electorally oriented SLP and the revolution-minded IWPA, which took with it a good portion of the SLP's left-wing, including such prominent leaders as the English-speaking orator

and the German-speaking newspaper editor

, began to develop early in the 1880s, with the split formalized by 1883, a year in which the SLP and the IWPA held competing conventions in Baltimore and Pittsburgh, respectively. At its December 1883 Baltimore Convention, the SLP made a vain effort at reestablishing organizational unity with the IWPA, adopting a particularly radical "proclamation" in the name of the party and eliminating the position of National Secretary to allow the form of decentralization favored by the anarchists. The issue of violence proved an insurmountable barrier to unity between the SLP and the anarchist movement and as Paul Grottkau, Alexander Jonas and their co-thinkers began to again forcefully espouse the Marxist point of view in 1884, the SLP began to rebound. In March 1884, the SLP consisted of 30 sections and two years later it had doubled.Hillquit, ''History of Socialism in the United States'', pg. 242. Three new privately owned English-language newspapers were briefly established, although none could achieve the critical mass of subscribers and advertising revenue necessary for survival. The SLP attempted to again make a foray into American electoral politics despite its still heavily German composition, joining forces with other labor organization into the

United Labor Party The South Australian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as South Australian Labor, is the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, originally formed ...

to support

Single Tax A single tax is a system of taxation based mainly or exclusively on one tax, typically chosen for its special properties, often being a tax on land value. The idea of a single tax on land values was proposed independently by John Locke and Bar ...

advocate

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

in the

1886 New York City mayoral election An election for Mayor of New York City was held on November 2, 1886. Candidates included four-term former state assemblyman Theodore Roosevelt, author Henry George, and twelfth-term U.S. congressman Abram Hewitt. Roosevelt, at age 28, would h ...

. The party remained almost completely separated from the English-speaking workers movement and longing for leaders who could traverse the seemingly insurmountable language barrier which limited the organization to a sort of Teutonic ghetto. Throughout the decade of the 1880s, the SLP was based upon local "Sections" coordinated by a loose National Executive Committee based in New York City. It was not until 1889 that any move was made to establish intermediate state levels of organization.

Relationship with the labor movement

The SLP did attempt to play an influence in the existing labor movement during the decade of the 1880s. As early as 1881, National Secretary Philip Van Patten joined the Order of the

Knights of Labor Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...

, the leading national union of the day.Hillquit, ''History of Socialism in the United States'', pg. 293. A decade later, the SLP retained a faith in the established trade union organizations to conduct their own affairs along a generally socialist course. In each issue of ''

'' during 1891 the weekly affairs of the New York Central Labor Federation, the New York Central Labor Union, the Brooklyn Central Labor Federation, the Brooklyn Central Labor Union and the

Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in t ...

(

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. In that same year, socialist delegates to the governing General Assembly of the K of L were largely responsible for the defeat of

Terence Powderly Terence Vincent Powderly (January 22, 1849 – June 24, 1924) was an American labor union leader, politician and attorney, best known as head of the Knights of Labor in the late 1880s. Born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, he was later elected mayor ...

and his replacement by J. R. Sovereign as Grand Master Workman, the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the organization. So great was the SLP's influence that the newly elected Sovereign promised to appoint a member of the party as editor of the ''Journal of the Knights of Labor.'' When he recanted on this pledge, a bitter feud erupted, ending with the December 1895 General Assembly refusing to seat ''de facto'' SLP party leader

as a delegate from District Assembly 49, resulting in an outright break of the two organizations and withdrawal of the greater part of the New York district from the organization, thereby hastening the Knights of Labor's demise.

Coming of Daniel De Leon

The year 1890 has long been regarded as a watershed by the SLP as it marked the date when the organization came under the influence of

. A native of the

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

island of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

, De Leon had been resident in the United States for 18 years before he began to play a leading role in the American socialist movement. De Leon attended a Gymnasium in

Hildesheim, Germany Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Le ...

in the 1860s before studying at the

University of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

, from which he graduated in 1872 at the age of 20. De Leon was a brilliant student—well versed in history, philosophy and mathematics. He was also a linguist with few peers, possessing fluency in Spanish, German, Dutch, Latin, French, English and ancient Greek; and a reading knowledge of Portuguese, Italian and modern Greek. Upon graduation, De Leon immigrated to the United States, settling 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 ...

. There he made the acquaintance of a group of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

ns who sought the liberation of their native land and edited their Spanish-language newspaper. De Leon paid the bills with a job teaching Latin, Greek and math at a school in

Westchester, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

.Johnson, "Daniel De Leon — Our Comrade," pg. 89. This teaching job enabled De Leon to finance his further education at

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

, from which he graduated with honors in 1878. Thereafter, De Leon moved to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, where he practiced law for a time before returning to Columbia University in 1883 to take a position as a lecturer on

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n diplomacy. De Leon seems to have been further politicized by the 1886 workers' campaign for the

Eight-Hour Day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 16 ...

and the brutal excesses of the police which came with it. De Leon was on the committee which nominated Henry George to run 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 a ...

in that same year and he spoke in public several times on George's behalf during the course of the campaign. De Leon participated in the first

Nationalist Club Nationalist Clubs were an organized network of socialist political groups which emerged at the end of the 1880s in the United States of America in an effort to make real the ideas advanced by Edward Bellamy in his utopian novel ''Looking Backwa ...

in New York City, a group dedicated to advancing the socialist ideas expressed by

Edward Bellamy Edward Bellamy (March 26, 1850 – May 22, 1898) was an American author, journalist, and political activist most famous for his utopian novel ''Looking Backward''. Bellamy's vision of a harmonious future world inspired the formation of numerou ...

in his extremely popular novel of the day, ''

Looking Backward ''Looking Backward: 2000–1887'' is a utopian science fiction novel by Edward Bellamy, a journalist and writer from Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts; it was first published in 1888. The book was translated into several languages, and in short or ...

'' (1888). De Leon was also deeply influenced by ''The Co-operative Commonwealth'' by

Laurence Gronlund Laurence Gronlund (, Available 1844–1899) was a Danish-born American lawyer, writer, lecturer, and political activist. Gronlund is best remembered for his pioneering work in adapting the International Socialism of Karl Marx and Ferdinand La ...

.Bernard Johnpoll with Lillian Johnpoll, ''The Impossible Dream: The Rise and Demise of the American Left''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1981; pg. 250. The failings of the Nationalist Club movement to develop a viable program or strategy for winning political power left De Leon searching for an alternative. This he found in the scientific

determinism Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and consi ...

underlying the writings of

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 ...

. In the fall of 1890, De Leon abandoned his academic career to devote himself full-time to the SLP. He was engaged in the spring of 1891 as the party's "National Lecturer", traveling the entire country from coast to coast to speak on the SLP's behalf. He was also named the SLP's candidate for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

in the fall of that same year, gathering a respectable 14,651 votes. As the historian Bernard Johnpoll notes, the SLP which Daniel De Leon joined in 1890 differed little from the organization which had been born at the end of the 1870s as it was largely a German-language organization located in an English-speaking country. Just 17 of the party's 77 branches used English as their basic language while only two members of the party's governing National Executive Committee spoke English fluently. The arrival of an erudite, well-read and multilingual university lecturer with English fluency was seen as a great triumph for the SLP organization. In the spring of 1891, De Leon was set to work as the National Organizer for the SLP. He pioneered for an English-speaking organization on a cross-country six-week tour to the West Coast and back in April and May. In 1892, De Leon was elected editor of ''The Weekly People'', the SLP's English-language official organ. He retained this important position without interruption for the rest of his life. De Leon never assumed the formal role of head of the organization, National Secretary, but was always recognized—by supporters and detractors alike—as the leader of the SLP through his tight editorial control of the official party press. While increasing the exposure and popularity of the organization among the American-born during his editorial tenure, De Leon proved to be a polarizing figure among the SLP's membership during his editorial tenure as historian Howard Quint notes:

Even De Leon's opponents were usually willing to concede that he possessed a tremendous intellectual grasp of Marxism. Those who had suffered under his editorial lashings looked on him as an unmitigated scoundrel who took fiendish delight in
character assassination "Character Assassination" is a four-issue Spider-Man story arc written by Marc Guggenheim with art by John Romita, Jr. and published by Marvel Comics. The arc appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #584-#588. An interlude, "The Spartacus Gambit" ...
, vituperation, and scurrility. But most of De Leon's contemporaries, and especially his critics, misunderstood him, just as he himself lacked understanding of people. He was not a petty tyrant who desired power for power's sake. Rather, he was a
dogmatic Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...
idealist, devoted brain and soul to a cause, a zealot who could not tolerate heresy or backsliding, a doctrinaire who would make no compromise with principles. For this strong-willed man, this late nineteenth-century Grand Inquisitioner of American socialism, there was no middle ground. You were either a disciplined and undeviating Marxist or no socialist at all. You were either with the mischief-making, scatterbrained
reformers A reformer is someone who works for reform. Reformer may also refer to: *Catalytic reformer, in an oil refinery *Methane reformer, producing hydrogen * Steam reformer *Hydrogen reformer, extracting hydrogen *Methanol reformer, producing hydrogen f ...
and 'labor fakirs' or you were against them. You either agreed on the necessity of uncompromising revolutionary tactics or you did not, and those falling into the latter category were automatically expendable as far as the Socialist Labor Party was concerned.

Early electoral politics

The Socialist Labor Party advocated a two-pronged attack against capitalism, including both economic and political components—trade unions and electoral campaigns. The SLP ran candidates under its own name for the first time in the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

elections of 1886, in which it put forward a full ticket headed by J. Edward Hall as its gubernatorial nominee and Alexander Jonas as its candidate 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 ...

. Fewer than 3,000 votes were cast for this ticket throughout the entire state of New York, a result so disheartening that the German language party paper the ''

'' and some prominent party leaders advocated abandonment of electoral campaigns for the time being.Hillquit, ''History of Socialism in the United States'', pg. 282. The National Convention of 1889 upheld the policy of

political action In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes ...

and the SLP was again active in the New York elections of 1890. In 1891, the party's electoral effort was led by the candidacy of Daniel De Leon for

. De Leon polled a respectable 14,651 votes in the losing effort. The party nominated its first candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in 1892, a decision made in September of that year at a national conference of the organization held at party headquarters in

, despite the fact that the SLP's platform called for the abolition of the offices of President and Vice President. A pro-forma nominating convention was held in New York City in August, attended by just 8 delegates, at which candidates were named and a platform approved. The party's ticket, featuring

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 ...

camera manufacturer

Simon Wing Simon Wing (1826 –1910) was a daguerreotype, daguerreotypist and camera inventor and socialist politician. He is best remembered as the first candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America for President of the United States, running for that o ...

and New York electrician

Charles H. Matchett Charles Horatio Matchett (May 15, 1843 – October 24, 1919) was an American socialist politician. He is best remembered as the first candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America for Vice President of the United States in the election of ...

, appeared on the ballot in just six states and drew a total of 21,512 votes. The number of votes gathered by the SLP ticket in 1892 constituted 0.18% of the national presidential vote that year. In percentage terms, the next two presidential elections of 1896 and 1900 were the most successful for the party as the SLP presidential candidate

received 0.26% of the national popular vote in 1896 and the party's candidate in 1900 Joseph Maloney received 0.29% of the popular vote nationwide. The latter's run was also the first time the SLP candidate was eclipsed by another socialist as

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 ...

ran for the first time for the Socialist Party that year and received 0.6% of the national popular vote. Although SLP presidential candidates would go on to get higher vote totals in the mid-20th century, they would never again surpass 0.25% of the national vote.

Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance

The main ideological principle of the SLP is

revolutionary industrial unionism Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

(also known as "socialist industrial unionism"). The early Socialist Labor Party, influenced by the father of the

, argued that the wage gains and improvements of conditions achievable by trade unions were insignificant and ephemeral. Only the capture of the state through the ballot box would enable a restructuring of the economy and society in anything resembling a permanent manner. So long as capitalism existed, wage gains here would be offset by the pressure of wage cuts there and incomes would be driven down to a subsistence minimum through the inexorable pressure of the market. Thus the political campaign for the capture of the state—winning office for the sake of winning power to enact change—was considered paramount. For the Marxists who had come to dominate the Socialist Labor Party by the 1890s, this idea was exactly backwards. So long as fundamental economic relations between workers and employers remained unchanged, any alteration of the personnel of the state apparatus would be short-lived and would fall to nothing due to the wealth of the employers and their desire to preserve the existing economic order. The employing class controlled press and school and pulpit, the Marxists believed, their ideas of the "natural" order of things stuffed the heads of their willing political servitors. Only through collective action,

activities, could the working class begin to achieve consciousness of itself, the nature of the world and its purported historic mission. However, what sort of trade unions would instill in the working class the ideas and drive to action that would lead to a revolutionary restructuring of the economic order? This was the central question, over which the SLP ultimately divided. On the one hand there were those who advocated the policy of "

boring from within Entryism (also called entrism, enterism, or infiltration) is a political strategy in which an organisation or state encourages its members or supporters to join another, usually larger, organization in an attempt to expand influence and expand the ...

" the already-existing unions, attempting to win their memberships over to the idea of socialist reorganization of society through the force of propaganda and practical example. Ultimately, it was believed that enough individual unions could be won over that the entire trade union movement could be moved in a socialist direction. Others rejected the existing network of

craft union Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the s ...

s as hopelessly reactionary bureaucracies, sometimes outright criminal in their administration, but never able to see beyond their own narrow and isolated concerns of wages, hours, recognition, and jurisdiction. A completely new, explicitly socialist

industrial union Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

structure was required, these individuals believed, an organization established on a broad basis uniting workers of different crafts in common cause. This new organization would gain the support of the working class when average workers at the bench witnessed the superiority of its form of organization and ideas in actual practice. At the SLP's national convention of 1896, this issue came to a head with the formation of the

Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance The Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance of the United States and Canada - commonly abbreviated STLA or ST&LA - was a revolutionary socialist labor union in the United States closely linked to the Socialist Labor Party (SLP), which existed from 189 ...

, a party-sponsored industrial union federation founded to compete directly with the unions of the emerging

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...

and the declining

, which eventually became a part of the Industrial Workers of the World when that organization was founded in 1905.

Party split of 1899

De Leon's opponents (primarily German-Americans, Jewish immigrants of various origins and

ists led by

Henry Slobodin Henry L. Slobodin was an American attorney, socialist activist and frequent candidate for public office from New York. Slobodin was active in the Socialist Labor Party of America before leaving in 1899 alongside other socialist activists like M ...

and

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 ...

) left the SLP in 1899. They later merged with the

, headed by

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

Eugene V. Debs Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialism, socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five times the candidate ...

to form the

20th century

In July 1908, the SLP briefly made national news with the nomination of Martin R. Preston, a convicted killer serving a 25-year prison sentence in Nevada, for President of the United States."Convict Nominated: Socialist Labor Party Name Murderer for President,"
''Tyrone ADaily Herald'', vol. XX, no. XX (July 6, 1908), pg. 1. Making the nomination on the convention floor was party leader Daniel De Leon himself, who noted that Preston had "acted as the protector of defenseless girls" during a strike and had killed a restaurateur who had threatened him with death. Despite the fact that the 32-year-old Preston was under the constitutionally mandated presidential age of 35, he was nonetheless unanimously nominated by the New York convention, which immediately notified him of their selection by

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

. However, Preston declined the nomination, leaving the SLP's National Executive Committee to name a new standard-bearer for the November election.

became national secretary for most of the 20th century from the death of De Leon in 1914 to 1969. The SLP, always critical of both the

and of the Socialist Party's "

reformism Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...

", became increasingly isolated from the majority of the

.Kenneth T. Jackson, ''The Encyclopedia of New York City''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1995; pg. 1083. The party had always advocated what they considered the purist socialism in its program, arguing that other parties had abandoned Marxism and became either

fan club A fans club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fans clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the per ...

s for

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

s or merely a

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

wing of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. The party experienced two growth spurts in the 20th century. The first occurred in the late 1940s. The presidential ticket, which had been receiving 15,000 to 30,000 votes, increased to 45,226 in 1944. Meanwhile, the aggregate nationwide totals for

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

nominees increased during this same period from an average in the 40,000 range to 96,139 in 1946 and 100,072 in 1948. The party's fortunes began to sag during the early 1950s and by 1954 the aggregate nationwide totals for Senate nominees was down to 30,577.

became influential in the SLP in the early 1950s. Hass, the nominee for president in 1952, 1956, 1960 and 1964, played a major role in rebuilding the SLP. He authored the booklet "Socialism: A Home Study Course". Hass increased the party's nationwide totals and recruited many local candidates. His vote for president increased from 30,250 in 1952 to 47,522 in 1960 (a 50% increase). Although his total slipped to 45,187 in 1964, Hass outpolled all other third party candidates—the only time this happened to the SLP. Aggregate nationwide totals for Senate nominees increased throughout the late 1960s, hitting 112,990 in 1972. The increased interest in the SLP in the late 1960s was not a permanent growth spurt. New recruits subscribed to the

anti-authoritarian Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as "a form of social organisation characterised by submission to authority", "favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom" and ...

views of the time and wanted their voices to have an equal status with the old-time party workers. Newcomers felt that the party was too controlled by a small clique, resulting in widespread discontent. The SLP nominated its last presidential candidate in 1976, and has run few campaigns since then. In 1980, members of the SLP in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, claiming that the party had become bureaucratic and authoritarian in its internal party structure, split from the party and formed the New Union Party.

21st century

The SLP began having trouble funding their newspaper ''The People'', so frequency was changed from monthly to bi-monthly in 2004. However, that did not save the paper from collapse and it was suspended as of March 31, 2008. An online version, published quarterly, ceased publication in 2011. As of January 2007, the party had 77 members-at-large as well as seven sections of which four (San Francisco Bay Area, Wayne County, Cleveland and Portland) held meetings, with an average attendance of 3–6 members. The SLP closed its national office on September 1, 2008.

Legacy

De Leon and the SLP helped to found the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...

in 1905. They soon had a falling out with the element that they termed "the bummery" and left to form their own rival union, also called the Industrial Workers of the World, based 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 ...

. De Leon died in 1914 and with his passing this organization lost its central focus. This body was renamed the

Workers International Industrial Union The Workers' International Industrial Union (WIIU) was a Revolutionary Industrial Union headquartered in Detroit in 1908 by radical trade unionists closely associated with the Socialist Labor Party of America, headed by Daniel DeLeon. The organiz ...

(WIIU) and declined into little more than SLP members. The WIIU was wound up in 1924. Famed author

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

was an early member of the Socialist Labor Party, joining in 1896. He left in 1901 to join the

. The

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

writer

Mack Reynolds Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds (November 11, 1917 – January 30, 1983) was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Dallas Ross, Mark Mallory, Clark Collins, Dallas Rose, Guy McCord, Maxine Reynolds, Bob Belmont, and Todd Har ...

, who wrote one of the first ''Star Trek'' novels, was an active member of the SLP (his father Verne L. Reynolds was twice the SLP's candidate for vice president). His fiction often deals with socialist reform and revolution as well as socialist utopian thought and his characters often use De Leonite terminology such as "industrial feudalism".Hough, Lawrence E. (1998). "Welcome to the Revolution: The Literary Legacy of Mack Reynolds". ''Utopian Studies''. p. 324.

National Conventions

Secretaries of the party

Presidential tickets

All election results taken fro
Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
an
Vote for presidential and vice presidential candidates of the Socialist Labor Party

Notable members

* John J. Ballam * J. Mahlon Barnes *

Ella Reeve Bloor Ella Reeve "Mother" Bloor (July 8, 1862 – August 10, 1951) was an American labor organizer and long-time activist in the socialist and communist movements. Bloor is best remembered as one of the top-ranking female functionaries in the Communis ...

* Frank Bohn * George Boomer *

Louis B. Boudin Louis B. Boudin (December 15, 1874 – May 29, 1952) was a Russian-born American Marxist theoretician, writer, politician, and lawyer. He is best remembered as the author of a two volume history of the Supreme Court's influence on American gover ...

Abraham Cahan Abraham "Abe" Cahan (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם קאַהאַן; July 7, 1860 – August 31, 1951) was a Lithuanian-born Jewish American socialist newspaper editor, novelist, and politician. Cahan was one of the founders of ''The Forward'' (), a ...

John C. Chase John Calvin Chase (1870–1937) was an American trade union activist and politician. Chase was elected to two terms as mayor of Haverhill, Massachusetts, on the Social Democratic ticket. He is considered the first socialist to elected mayor of ...

Maximilian Cohen Maximilian "Max" Cohen was an American socialist politician of the early 20th century. Cohen held a series of important posts during the pivotal year of 1919, including Secretary of the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party for Local Greater N ...

James Connolly James Connolly ( ga, Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the a ...

Georgia Cozzini Georgia Olive Cozzini (February 14, 1915 – October 10, 1983) was an American socialist politician. She is best remembered as the first woman to run for Governor of Wisconsin and for two consecutive runs as the Vice Presidential candidate of th ...

* Solon De Leon *

Benjamin Feigenbaum Benjamin Feigenbaum (August 12, 1860 – November 10, 1932) was a Polish-born Jewish socialist, newspaper editor, translator, and satirist. Feigenbaum was an associate editor of the Yiddish language ''The Forward'', its predecessor ''Di Arbe ...

Louis C. Fraina Louis C. Fraina (October 7, 1892 – September 15, 1953) was a founding member of the Communist Party USA in 1919. After running afoul of the Communist International in 1921 over the alleged misappropriation of funds, Fraina left the organized rad ...

Julius Gerber Julius Gerber (born Israel Getzel Gerber; 1872–1956) was a leading Socialist Party of America party official and politician during the first two decades of the 20th century. Gerber headed the important Socialist Party unit for New York City and ...

Margaret Haile Margaret Haile () was a Canadian socialist in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a teacher and journalist by profession. She was active in the socialist movements in both Canada and the United States. Frederic Heath's "Socialism in ...

J. Edward Hall James Edward Hall (August 22, 1851 – May 3, 1889) was a socialist trade union organizer and politician. He is best remembered as one of the organizers of the New York Central Labor Union and one of the first American socialists nominated for high ...

Benjamin Hanford Benjamin Hanford (1861 – January 24, 1910) was an American socialist politician during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A printer by trade, Hanford is best remembered for his 1904 and 1908 runs for Vice President of the United States on ...

Job Harriman Job Harriman (January 15, 1861 – October 26, 1925) was an ordained minister who later became an agnostic and a socialist. In 1900, he ran for vice president of the United States along with Eugene Debs on the ticket of the Socialist Party of ...

Caleb Harrison Caleb Harrison (September 20, 1879June 8, 1938) was an American politician and vice presidential candidate in the 1916 United States presidential election as Arthur E. Reimer's running mate. He and Reimer were members of the Socialist Labor Party of ...

Max S. Hayes Maximillian Sebastian "Max" Hayes (25 May 1866 – 11 October 1945) was an American newspaper editor, trade union activist, and socialist politician. In 1912 Hayes became the first candidate to challenge Samuel Gompers for the presidency of the A ...

Isaac Hourwich Isaac Aronovich Hourwich (April 26, 1860 – July 9, 1924) (Russian: Исаак Аронович Гурвич) was a Jewish-American economist, statistician, lawyer, and political activist. Hourwich is best remembered as a pioneer in the developmen ...

Frank Johns Frank Tetes Johns (February 23, 1889May 20, 1928) was a carpenter and American socialist political activist and politician. He is best remembered for having been twice nominated for President of the United States by the Socialist Labor Party of ...

* Olive M. Johnson *

Antoinette Konikow Antoinette F. Buchholz Konikow (November 1869 – 2 July 1946) was an American physician, Marxist, and radical political activist. Konikow is best remembered as one of the pioneers of the American birth control movement and as a founding membe ...

* William Ross Knudsen *

Joseph A. Labadie Charles Joseph Antoine Labadie (April 18, 1850 – October 7, 1933) was an American labor organizer, anarchism, anarchist, greenback party, Greenbacker, social activist, printer, publisher, essayist, and poet. Biography Early years Jo Labadie wa ...

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 ...

Meyer London Meyer London (December 29, 1871 – June 6, 1926) was an American politician from New York City. He represented the Lower East Side of Manhattan and was one of only two members of the Socialist Party of America elected to the United States Congre ...

William Mailly William Mailly (November 22, 1871 – September 4, 1912) was an American socialist political functionary, journalist, and trade union activist. He is best remembered as the second National Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party of America and ...

Charles Matchett Charles Horatio Matchett (May 15, 1843 – October 24, 1919) was an American socialist politician. He is best remembered as the first candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America for Vice President of the United States in the election of ...

James H. Maurer James Hudson Maurer (April 15, 1864 – March 16, 1944) was a prominent American trade unionist who twice ran for the office of Vice President of the United States on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America. Biography Early years James H. ...

* P. J. McGuire * Thomas J. Morgan *

Kate Richards O'Hare Carrie Katherine "Kate" Richards O'Hare (March 26, 1876 – January 10, 1948) was an American Socialist Party activist, editor, and orator best known for her controversial imprisonment during World War I. Biography Early years Carrie Katherin ...

Patrick L. Quinlan Arthur Patrick L. "Pat" Quinlan (1883–1948) was an Irish trade union organizer, journalist, and socialist political activist. Quinlan is best remembered for the part he played as an organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World in the 191 ...

Arthur E. Reimer Arthur Elmer Reimer (January 15, 1882 – November 25, 1969) was an American socialist political activist and politician who served as the presidential candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America twice. Biography Early years Arthur Reim ...

* Verne L. Reynolds *

Wilhelm Rosenberg Wilhelm Ludwig "William" Rosenberg (1850 – 1930s) was a German-American teacher, poet, playwright, journalist, and socialist political activist. He is best remembered as the head of the Socialist Labor Party of America from 1884 to 1889. Bi ...

Lucien Sanial Lucien Delabarre Sanial (12 September 1835 – 7 January 1927) was a French-American newspaper editor, economist, and political activist. A pioneer member of the Socialist Labor Party of America, Sanial is best remembered as one of the earliest e ...

George A. Schilling George A. Schilling (1850 in BadenSCHILLING, Charles
in ''Who's Who in America' ...

Algie Martin Simons Algie Martin Simons (1870–1950) was an American socialist journalist, newspaper editor, and political activist, best remembered as the editor of ''International Socialist Review (1900), The International Socialist Review'' for nearly a decade. ...

Leslie White Leslie Alvin White (January 19, 1900, Salida, Colorado – March 31, 1975, Lone Pine, California) was an American anthropologist known for his advocacy of the theories on cultural evolution, sociocultural evolution, and especially neoevoluti ...

Morris Winchevsky Morris Winchevsky (Yiddish: מאָריס װינטשעװסקי; born as Leopold Benzion Novokhovitch; August 9 1856–March 18 1932), also known as Ben Netz, was a prominent Jewish socialist leader in London and the United States in the late 19th ...

Party press

Party-owned

* '' Vorbote'' (''The Warning'') (1874–1924) – Chicago weekly. Predated the SLP, party organ 1876–1878. Broke with SLP for anarchism in the early 1880s. * ''

Arbeiter Stimme Arbeiter (german: worker) may refer to Publications: * ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'' (disambiguation), several newspapers *''Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung'', a German-language magazine published in 1924–1938 *Arbeiter Fragen, journal of the Jewish Bundis ...

'' (''Worker's Voice'') (1876–1878) – New York City weekly. Predated the SLP under the title ''Sozial-Demokrat''. New York Public Library holds master negative film. * '' The Labor Standard'' (April 1876–December 1881) – New York City. Originally organ of the Social-Democratic Workingmen's Party of North America under title ''The Socialist''. New York Public Library holds master negative film. * '' The Social Democrat'' (c. 1877) – New York daily. * '' The National Socialist'' (May 1878 – 1879) – Cincinnati official organ with John McIntosh as editor. * ''

Bulletin of the Social Labor Movement Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...

'' (1879–1883) – published in Detroit and New York City. * ''

Der Sozialist Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...

'' (1885–1892) – German language. Published in New York City. ** ''

Vorwärts ''Vorwärts'' (, "Forward") is a newspaper published by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Founded in 1876, it was the central organ of the SPD for many decades. Following the party's Halle Congress (1891), it was published daily as ...

'' (''Forward'') (1892–1932) – published in New York City. Broke with SLP in 1899 and became privately owned publication. * ''

The Workmen's Advocate ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1885–1891) – originally published by the New Haven (CT) Trades Council. Official organ of SLP from November 21, 1886. Subscription list taken over by ''The People'' in 1891. ** ''

'' (1891–2011) – published in New York City by ''New Yorker Volkszeitung'' on behalf of the SLP. Party-owned from 1899. Later moved to Palo Alto, CA. * '' Pittsburgher Volkszeitung'' (c. 1891) – German language. Pittsburgh weekly.

Privately owned

English

* ''

Advance Advance commonly refers to: *Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits *Advance payment for goods or services *Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty pa ...

'' (1896–1902) – San Francisco weekly. Wisconsin Historical Society holds master negative film. * '' The Echo'' (c. 1877) – Boston weekly. * '' Emancipator'' (c. 1877) – Cincinnati and Milwaukee weekly. * '' Emancipator'' (1894) – Cleveland weekly. * '' The Evening Telegram'' (c. 1884) – New Haven weekly. * ''

Lawrence Labor Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparato ...

'' (1896) – Lawrence, MA weekly. * '' The Liberator'' (1896–1897) * ''

Manchester Labor Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

'' (1896) – Manchester, NH weekly. * ''

Ohio Labor Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

'' (1895–1896) – Toledo weekly. * '' Philadelphia Labor'' (1893–1894) – Philadelphia weekly. * ''

Quincy Labor Quincy may refer to: People *Quincy (name), including a list of people with the name Quincy * Quincy political family, including members of the family Places and jurisdictions France * Quincy, Cher, a commune in the Cher département * A hamle ...

'' (1895) – Quincy, IL weekly * '' Rochester Labor'' (1896) – Rochester, NY weekly * '' Rochester Socialist'' (1898) – Rochester, NY monthly. * ''

St. Louis Labor ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

'' (1893–1928) – St. Louis daily. Broke with SLP circa 1897. * '' San Antonio Labor'' (1894–1896) – San Antonio weekly. * '' San Francisco Truth (c. 1884) – San Francisco weekly. * ''

Savannah Labor A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

'' (1895) – Savannah, GA weekly. * '' The Socialist'' (c. 1877) – Detroit weekly. * '' The Socialist Alliance'' (1898) – Chicago weekly. * ''

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (c. 1877) – St. Louis daily. * ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (c. 1877) – Indianapolis weekly. * ''

The Tocsin ''The Tocsin'' (often referred to only as ''Tocsin'') was an Australian socialist newspaper, published from 1897 to 1906. It was co-founded by several prominent political figures, including Edward Findley, John Percy Jones and Bernard O'Dowd. J ...

'' (?–1899) – Minneapolis weekly. * ''

The Truth The Truth may refer to: Film * ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy * ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot * ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial crim ...

'' (1898) – Davenport, IA. Bilingual English and German. * ''

The Voice of the People ''The Voice of the People'' is an anthology of folk songs produced by Topic Records containing recordings of traditional singers and musicians from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The series was first issued in 1998 as 20 CDs, compiled by Dr ...

'' (c. 1884) – New York City weekly. * '' The Wage Worker'' (?–1899) – Kansas City weekly. * ''

Worcester Labor Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

'' (1896) – Worcester, MA weekly. * '' Workingmen's Ballot'' (c. 1877) – Boston weekly.

German

* '' Arbeiter von Ohio'' (''Ohio Worker'') (c. 1877) – Cincinnati weekly. * '' Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung'' (''Chicago Workers' News'') (1876–1924) – Chicago daily paper, which published ''Vorbote''. * '' Chicagoer Sozialist'' (''Chicago Socialist'') (c. 1877) – Chicago daily. * '' Chicagoer Volkszeitung'' (''Chicago People's News'') (c. 1877) – Chicago daily. * ''

Cleveland Volksfreund Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

'' (''Cleveland People's Friend'') (1898) – Weekly. * '' Freiheitsbanner'' (''Freedom Flag'') (c. 1877) – Cincinnati weekly. * ''

Illinois Volkszeitung Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockford ...

'' (c. 1884) * '' Milwaukee Sozialist'' (''Milwaukee Socialist'') (c. 1877) – Milwaukee daily. Predated the SLP. * ''

Die Neue Zeit ''Die Neue Zeit'' (German: "The New Times") was a German socialist theoretical journal of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) that was published from 1883 to 1923. Its headquarters was in Stuttgart, Germany. History and profile Founded ...

'' (''The New Era'') (c. 1877) – Louisville and Chicago daily. * ''

'' (''New York People's News'') (1878–1932) – New York City daily. Broke with SLP in 1899, but continued publication until 1932. * '' Ohio Volkszeitung'' (''Ohio People's News'') (c. 1877) – Cincinnati daily. * ''

Philadelphia Tageblatt Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

'' (''Philadelphia Daily Paper'') (1877–1942) – Philadelphia daily. Broke with SLP at some point. * '' Pittsburgher Arbeiter Zietung'' (c. 1890) – Pittsburgh weekly. * ''

Vorwärts! ''Vorwärts!'' (, ''Forward!'') was a biweekly newspaper published in Paris from January to December 1844. The journal was seen as "the most radical" in contemporary Europe. The newspaper circulation was about a thousand copies. It had a subtit ...

'' (''Forward!'') (1877–1878) – Milwaukee weekly. Wisconsin Historical Society holds master negative film. * ''

'' (1893–1932) – Milwaukee daily with Victor Berger as editor. Broke with SLP in 1897. Wisconsin Historical Society holds master negative film. * ''

'' (''Forward'') (c. 1877) – Newark daily. * '' Volksstimme des Westens'' (''Voice of the People of the West'') (c. 1877) – St. Louis daily.

Other languages

; Bulgarian * '' Rabotnicheska Prosveta'' (''Workers' Enlightenment'') (1911–1969) – published in Granite City, IL and Detroit. Weekly. ; Czech * '' Delnicke Listy'' (''Voice of Labor'') (c. 1877) – Cleveland weekly; predated the SLP. * ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...

'' (''Truth'') (1898) – New York City weekly. ; Danish-Norwegian * '' Arbejderen'' (''The Worker'') (1898) – Chicago weekly. ; Hungarian * ''

A Munkás A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (''The Worker'') (1910–1961) – New York City weekly. New York Public Library holds master negative film. * '' Nepszava'' (''People's Voice'') (1898) – New York City weekly. ; Latvian * '' Proletareets'' (''The Proletarian'') (1902–1911) ; Norwegian * '' Den Nye Tid'' (''The New Time'') (c. 1877) – Chicago weekly. ; Polish * '' Sila'' (''The Force'') (1898) – Buffalo weekly. ; Serbo-Croatian * '' Radnička Borba'' (''Workers' Struggle'') (1907–1970) – published in New York, Cleveland and Detroit. Weekly, later semi-monthly. ; Swedish * ''

Arbetaren ''Arbetaren'' (''The Worker'') is a Swedish syndicalist newspaper. Founded in 1922, it has been published by the anarcho-syndicalist union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematic ...

'' (''The Worker'') (1895–1928) – New York City weekly. ; Ukrainian * '' Robitinychyi Holos'' (''Workers' Voice'') (1922–?) – New York City weekly. ; Yiddish * '' Der Ermes'' (''The Truth'') (1895–1896) – Boston weekly. * '' Arbeiter Zeitung'' (''Workers' News'') (1898) – New York City. : Sources: ''Proceedings of the National Congress, 1877'', pp. 16–17; Hillquit (1903), pp. 225, 242; American Labor Press Directory (1925), pp. 22–23; Library of Congress ''Chronicling America'' database.

Footnotes

External links

; Contemporary SLP links
Socialist Labor Party of America
Official party website.

Index of issues available in pdf, 1999–2008. ; Primary documents
''Bulletin of the Social Labor Movement''
Vol 1. No. 14 (December 1880–January 1881). Full issue of rare official organ. * "1891 Report of the NEC of the SLP". December 18, 1891.
SLP Documents Downloads
Early American Marxism website. Index for assorted party documents in pdf format.
Report of the Proceedings of the National Convention of the Socialistic Labor Party
Index for pdfs of proceedings of the party (1878–1887).

Socialist Labor Party. Extensive collection of editorials and writings by Daniel De Leon in pdf format. ; Links relating to the historic SLP

Early American Marxism website. Partial, but lengthy list of official publications of the party.

Includes extensive party history.

Socialist Labor Party. Official party history of the party's most notable leader. * ''Papers of the Socialist Labor Party of America: Records of the Socialist Labor Party of America; guide to a microfilm edition''. User guide to the microfilm collection filmed by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. ; Archives
Socialist Labor Party Seattle Section Records
1930–1962. 2.73 cubic feet (7 boxes).
George E. Rennar Papers
1933–1972. 37.43 cubic feet. Contains ephemera on the Socialist Labor Party. {{DEFAULTSORT:Socialist Labor Party Of America Political parties established in 1876 Political parties in the United States 1876 establishments in Pennsylvania Mountain View, California Daniel De Leon Socialist parties in the United States