Socialist Party of North Carolina
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The Socialist Party of North Carolina (SPNC) is a multi-tendency
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...
political party in the U.S. state of
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. The party was launched in 1901 as the state organization 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 ...
(SPA), its direct organizational antecedent, and later reformed in 1996 as the state SPUSA affiliate after the SPA became
Social Democrats, USA Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a small political association of social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term "party" in the SPA's na ...
.


Socialist Party of America Affiliation


Background

Throughout the 19th Century and well into the 20th,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
was an overwhelmingly agrarian state, with 75 percent of North Carolinians living rurally as late as 1930. The farmers of the state were not atomized and apolitical, however, as the state was home to a tradition of political and economic reform dating back to the beginning of the progressive era in the middle 1880s.Taylor, ''The History of the North Carolina Communist Party,'' pg. 1. The populist Farmers' Alliance had grown deep roots in Carolina soil, exemplified by the presence some 2,200 local organizations in the state with a total membership of 90,000 by 1890. In this period economic development in North Carolina was related in the first place to the region's massive
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
industry, with North Carolina workers responsible for the manufacture of half the output of
cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...
s and two-thirds the output of chewing tobacco. The fabric and clothing manufacturing industry also began to expand dramatically, with North Carolina mills producing half of the nation's
cotton yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactur ...
by the early 20th Century.


Establishment

The Socialist Party of America was founded in 1901. The first SP nominee for President was labor leader
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 ...
and he received votes in North Carolina several times. The first time was in 1904, when he received 125 votes. In 1912, the party held its convention with 100 delegates from 12 counties in
Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
. A theme of the meeting was opposition to global war. In that year, Socialist nominee Debs received 1,025 votes. In 1916, Socialist nominee
Allen Benson Allen Wilbert Benson (March 28, 1905 – November 16, 1999), nicknamed "Bullet", was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues in 1934. He would play for the Washington Senators. Benson played for the bearded Hous ...
received 509 votes for president. In 1920, Debs was once again the nominee and earned 446 votes while in federal prison. The vote totals were relatively low because small parties were required to print and pay for the ballots with the names of their party's nominees. The party's 1920 platform included calls for the repeal of poll taxes and the guaranteeing of voting rights regardless skin color, which did not come to fruition until the
Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
decades later.


The Great Depression years

In October 1932, Socialist presidential candidate Norman Thomas spoke before 1,200 people in Raleigh. He earned 5,591 votes in the general election. The Socialist Party of North Carolina held a convention in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1932 during
the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. It was actively involved in various labor disputes, including locally in the 1934 textile workers strike. During the 1930s, attempts were made to form a united front between members of the Communist Party and Socialist Party in North Carolina. Following the successful efforts to put Thomas on the 1932 ballot, North Carolina drastically increased its ballot access requirements. The North Carolina Attorney General threatened to sue North Carolina voters who signed the party's petition but were not party members.


Rejection of the United Front

From the time of the 1929 Loray Mill strike in Gastonia, North Carolina had been the target of political organizers of the
Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
(CPUSA) — bitter rivals and political enemies of the Socialists throughout the CP's ultra-revolutionary Third Period. With the specter of
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
growing in Europe, this ultra-left political line of the international Communist movement began to change in 1934, with a move made towards a new Popular Front policy. On September 21, 1934, Communist functionary
Paul Crouch Paul Franklin Crouch /kraʊtʃ/ (March 30, 1934 – November 30, 2013) was an American television evangelist. Crouch and his wife, Jan, founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in 1973; the company has been described as "the world’s la ...
wrote directly to Socialist leader Norman Thomas proposing united action between Communists and Socialists in organizing the textile industry.Taylor, ''The History of the North Carolina Communist Party,'' pg. 114. Crouch proposed joint action on a range of political issues, including support of unemployment insurance, repeal of the state's regressive
sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...
, legal defense of jailed strikers and other political prisoners, and monthly meetings between Socialists and Communists in North Carolina. Thomas poured cold water on the idea of closer ties between the bitter political foes, however, declaring in a negative reply to Crouch that Communist "policy in the labor field is hurtful rather than helpful to the policy we want to achieve."Taylor, ''The History of the North Carolina Communist Party,'' pg. 115. The rejection of the proposed
united front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...
in North Carolina by the SPA's national leadership had negative repercussions for the Socialist Party of North Carolina, however, inspiring two of the SP's top leaders in the state — State Secretary Alton Lawrence and State Executive Committee member Hazel Dawson — to quit the SPA and apply for membership in the CPUSA. The Socialist organizing effort was thereby attenuated somewhat and Communist momentum improved; no united front action would never develop, however.


Towards World War II

In January 1938, Socialist Party leader Norman Thomas spoke on campus at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
. He was introduced by historian
Howard K. Beale Howard Kennedy Beale (April 8, 1899 – December 27, 1959) was an American historian. He had several temporary appointments before becoming a professor of history at the University of North Carolina in 1935. His most famous student was C. Vann Wo ...
.


SPUSA Reorganization

The Socialist Party of North Carolina (SPNC) was re-formed in 1996Wiley J. Williams
"Socialist Party of North Carolina,"
in William S. Powell (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of North Carolina.'' Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2006; pg. ???
as the modern affiliate of
Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...
, a successort to the historic Socialist Party of America. The SPNC has small, organized groups in Raleigh and Jacksonville. For the first time since 1936, the 2000 presidential election saw a Socialist Party presidential candidate, David McReynolds, was an official
write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...
candidate in North Carolina. In the early 2000s the SPNC was involved in a variety of causes, including a boycott of Mt. Olive Pickles and the work of People of Faith against the Death Penalty. Again as a
write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...
, the Socialist Party presidential candidate in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, Walt Brown, received about 300 votes in North Carolina.


Notable Members


See also

* Political party strength in North Carolina *
Politics of North Carolina Like most U.S. states, North Carolina is politically dominated by the Democratic and Republican political parties. North Carolina has 14 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and two seats i ...
*
Government of North Carolina The government of North Carolina is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. These consist of the Council of State (led by the Governor), the bicameral legislature (called the General Assembly), and the state court system ...
* Elections in North Carolina *
Law of North Carolina The law of North Carolina consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local law. Sources The Constitution of North Carolina is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the Gene ...
* Loray Mill strike *
Junius Scales Junius Scales (March 26, 1920 – August 5, 2002) was an American leader of the Communist Party of the United States of America notable for his arrest and conviction under the Smith Act in the 1950s. He was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1954 ...


Footnotes


Further reading

* Jonathon Gentry, ''Seeing Red: Anti-Communism, Civil Liberties, and the Struggle Against Dissent in North Carolina, 1949-1968.'' PhD dissertation. University of South Carolina, 2003. * John Salmond, ''Gastonia, 1929: The Story of the Loray Mill Strike.'' Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1995. * Socialist Party of Asheville
"Socialist Party Platform,"
''The Workman,'' vol. 2, no. 10 (March 30, 1901), pg. 1. * Gregory S. Taylor, ''The History of the North Carolina Communist Party.'' Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2009. * Gregory S. Taylor, ''The Life and Lies of Paul Crouch: Communist, Opportunist, Cold War Snitch.'' Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2014.


External links


NC Socialist party website
{{Socialist Party USA Political parties in North Carolina
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
State and local socialist parties in the United States Political parties established in 1996 1996 establishments in North Carolina