The Social-Democratic Workingmen's Party of North America (SDWP or SDWPNA) was a Lassallist

socialist party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

History

In 1868, German-speaking members of the International Workingmen's Association in America (IWA) in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

create the (ADAV, General German Labor Association). Around this core, in 1874, dissident

Lassallean Lassallism or Lassalleanism is the strategy of the pursuit of socialism through the use of the state. This school of thought developed from German jurist and socialist activist Ferdinand Lassalle. This school of thought diverged from the route ...

members of the IWA split and created the Social-Democratic Workingmen's Party, shortly before the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

IWA collapsed. The SDWP claimed 1500 members, mostly German immigrants in

. 90% of its members were foreign-born workers. SDWP founders included Pyotr Lavrov and Adolph Strasser, who served as its executive secretary. In the 1874 elections, the SDWP performed horribly. This encouraged

Marxists Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, and ...

within the organization to promote

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

membership over electoral participation, which they won at the 1875 convention. In turn, these results enabled the 1876 merger. In 1876, the SDWP merged with three other socialist organizations to create 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. History On Jul ...

(WPUS), which would become the

Socialist Labor Party of America The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

(SLP). Although the SDWP's platform contained no explicit reference to

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, its successor the

Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

would be the first US political party to demand

initiatives A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite o ...

as a plank in their party platform. If dated from the formation of the ADAV, the SDWP was the second socialist party created in the world, after the

General German Workers' Association The General German Workers' Association (, 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 party in history. The organization existed ...

Ferdinand Lassalle Ferdinand Johann Gottlieb Lassalle (born Lassal; 11 April 1825 – 31 August 1864) was a German jurist, philosopher, socialist, and political activist. Remembered as an initiator of the German labour movement, he developed the theory of state s ...

Endnotes

References

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External links

Platform and constitution of the Social-Democratic Workingmen's Party of North America
Political parties established in 1874 1876 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct political parties in the United States Defunct socialist parties in the United States Socialist Labor Party of America 1874 establishments in New York (state) Political parties disestablished in 1876