The

Socialist Party of Oregon The Socialist Party of Oregon (SPO) is the name of three closely related organizations — an Oregon state affiliate of the Social Democratic Party of America (later the Socialist Party of America) established in 1897 and continuing into the 1950s ...

Columbia County, Oregon Columbia County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,589. The county seat is St. Helens. History The Chinook and Clatskanie Native American peoples inhabited this region fo ...

began around the

First Red Scare The first Red Scare was a period during History of the United States (1918–1945), the early 20th-century history of the United States marked by a widespread fear of Far-left politics, far-left movements, including Bolsheviks, Bolshevism a ...

. The first year (1914) it went mainstream, the Socialist party had 27 more registered members than the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movemen ...

, who were some members of the

Suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. The Socialist party was similar to the Progressive Party in the county, as it tried from the outskirts of government to make change. While Socialism failed its first year, it still received attention from the press who was aware of the October Revolution (1918) in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(Now the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

) by a similarly named government led by

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

1916 election

During the 1916 election, it was considered a failure by the Socialist Party of Columbia County as they only saw eight votes trickle in from

Clatskanie, Oregon Clatskanie () is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the Kwalhioqua–Clatskanie language, Tlatskanai Native American tribe, and the Clatskanie River which flows through the town and empties ...

Mist, Oregon Mist is an unincorporated community in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. Formerly called Riverside, the place was renamed in 1888 for the atmospheric conditions of the Nehalem Valley. The first land claims in the area had been made circa ...

had two socialist voters while

Vernonia, Oregon Vernonia is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the Nehalem River, in a valley on the eastern side of the Northern Oregon Coast Range that is the heart of one of the most important timber-producing areas of the ...

had 18 residents who voted to socialist ticket and

St. Helens, Oregon St. Helens is the county seat of Columbia County, Oregon. It was founded by Captain Henry Montgomery Knighton, a native of New England, in 1845, as "Plymouth". The name was changed to St. Helens in the latter part of 1850 for its view of Mount ...

had 19 total socialist voters. Due to county rules in 1916, the Socialists failed to reach the county's minimum requirement for entering the ballot process. Despite this, the Socialist party was the fourth most registered party in all the county, with the Prohibitionists and the Progressives staggering behind.

World War One members

Clarence Burke, a member of the Socialist Party living in Columbia County, Oregon was described as a

draft dodger Conscription evasion or draft evasion (American English) is any successful attempt to elude a government-imposed obligation to serve in the military forces of one's nation. Sometimes draft evasion involves refusing to comply with the military dr ...

for the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Burke was arrested by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, but had the chance to prove that he was nonessential personnel.

References

{{reflist Political parties in Oregon 1914 establishments in Oregon Columbia County, Oregon State and local socialist parties in the United States Socialism in Oregon