The Socialist Party of Louisiana was a political party in the U.S. state of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
affiliated with the
Socialist Party of America. The 1912 results reveal that the party's support was based in areas that had been strongholds of the
Populist Party in the 1890s. Their areas of highest support were parishes with few large farms and lower farm values. Other important constituencies within the party were unskilled lumber workers and Marxian socialists, who were based in
.
In 1903, the party adopted a platform supporting racial segregation. After the party was criticized by the national committee, it was advised to focus on economic equality rather than racial issues.
The party was heavily divided between "Yellows" who advocated electoral action and "Reds" who were primarily affiliated with 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 general ...
and favored direct action.
The strength of the party was found in the rural uplands areas of the state, including
Vernon Parish
Vernon Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Vernon'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 52,334. The parish seat is Leesville. Bordered on the west by the Sabine River, the parish was founde ...
and
Winn Parish
Winn Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,313. Its seat is Winnfield. The parish was founded in 1852. It is last in alphabetical order of Louisiana's sixty-four parishe ...
in the north and west. For example, in the 1912 election, the entire slate of the Socialist Party was elected in
Winnfield and 35.45% of votes in the county seat went to Socialist presidential nominee
Eugene V. Debs
Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five times the candidate of the Soc ...
. Statewide in the
1912 presidential election, Eugene Debs outpolled Republican Party nominee and incumbent president
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
and received 5,429 votes. The party did not do as well in areas along the Mississippi River with rich alluvial soils, nor in
, which Debs received only 2.1% of the vote and the party's mayoral candidate received only 700 votes.
References
Political parties in Louisiana
Socialist Party of America by state
State and local socialist parties in the United States
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