In 1919, a significant event occurred in the life of American political activists who shared the ideology of Marxism-Leninism: their two main groups, one of which was headed by Charles Ruthenberg, and the second by John Reed, managed to unite, and as a result, Communist Party of the United States of America.
The beginning of the formation of the party
From the beginning of its existence, it came under the harsh pressure of American justice, becoming the object of a number of forceful actions aimed at combating the so-called "red threat". One should recall at least the well-known "Palmer raids" directed against left-wing radicals and all kinds of anarchists, as well as a number of similar actions.
The Communist Party of the USA received its current name only in 1929, in the previous period it was called the Workers' Party of America. It should be recognized that in the first half of the 20th century it was the most influential party of the Marxist persuasion.
Periodsboom and bust
Among the numerous political currents that tried in one way or another to influence the American proletarians, it was the US Communist Party that played the most prominent role in the labor movement of those years. TSB - the Great Soviet Encyclopedia - provides data according to which during this period more than one hundred thousand people were its members. According to researchers, the peak of party activity falls on 1939.
However, in the fifties there was a significant decline in the popularity of the communists. This is explained by the fact that for many it became obvious their close and, as it turned out, disinterested cooperation with the government of the USSR, as well as support for all kinds of “new left” and “pacifists.”
Dirty money
This was not fiction, since it is documented that back in 1987, Soviet communists transferred almost three million dollars to the accounts of their overseas colleagues. True, then perestroika came, and M. S. Gorbachev blocked their financial income.
As it became known in recent years, the US Communist Party was not a useless freeloader of the CPSU, but conscientiously worked out the money received. Many of its structures were under the direct control of the GRU and the NKVD. By the way, according to the Americans themselves, the vast majority of people caught collaborating with Soviet intelligence were members of the Communist Party.
In July 1948, the US Congress held a public hearing on the case. as key witnessesSpeakers were Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley, former Soviet agents, as well as many members of the Communist Party convicted of espionage. Their testimonies were irrefutably proved by transcripts of radiograms sent from the territory of the United States. The Communist Party, which had already lost popularity by that time, acquired the image of a "fifth column" as a result of these revelations.
Hard times
At the turn of the forties and fifties, about one hundred and forty communists, including both ordinary members of the party and its functionaries, were sentenced by the court to various terms of imprisonment. The basis for this was a law called the "Smith Act", which provides for punishment for those who, in one way or another, contribute to the overthrow of the legitimate government.
Due to the fact that the range of actions falling under the articles of this law was outlined very vaguely, with its help it was possible to send anyone objectionable to jail, which was often used by the American authorities. In the same period, a nationwide trade union congress was held, at which it was decided to exclude from their number eleven trade union organizations that were supported by the Communist Party of the USA. Thus, the labor movement showed its desire to distance itself from the political organization that compromised itself.
McCarthyism period
From the beginning of the fifties, the movement of the so-called McCarthyists began in the country - supporters of US Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy, who advocatedactive suppression of communist and anti-American sentiments in society. His position found wide support among the population, which aggravated the already difficult situation in which the Communist Party of the USA found itself. The ban on its activities was not imposed, but, nevertheless, the stability and internal structure of the organization were greatly shaken.
To make matters worse, the activities of the Communists became the object of persecution by the FBI as part of a program deployed in those years to curb anti-government activities and espionage. This was the reason that many ordinary members of the party, not wanting to have trouble, left its composition, and those functionaries who were still at large, hastened to publicly declare their loy alty to the authorities.
Replenishing the ranks of the party in the sixties
In the sixties, the US Communist Party somewhat intensified its activities due to the entry into it of pacifists - members of a social movement that advocated peace and the refusal to solve international problems by military means. At the same time, the new left joined the ranks of the communists.
These were representatives of Marxist organizations, but in their ideology they occupied extreme left positions. They opposed the lack of spirituality of the Western world, the widespread desire for enrichment and the trampling of moral values. Communist leaders in those years actively supported the Civil Rights Movement, led by the later murdered Martin Luther King.
Partylate eighties split
The gap between the communists of America and the CPSU occurred in the late eighties, when they criticized the ongoing perestroika in Russia. Such liberty cost them dearly, and in the truest sense of the word. Since 1989, the Kremlin has stopped providing them with financial support.
The lack of money shook the ideological inflexibility of some American comrades, and at an extraordinary session held in 1991, some of them spoke in favor of abandoning Leninism and reorienting towards democratic socialism.
These "refuseniks", admittedly, were in the minority and subsequently, after leaving the party, founded an independent political organization. However, with their departure, they split the ranks of the communists, which significantly weakened their former party members.
The Violence Denying Party
Among the world's political movements declaring the socialist revolution as their ultimate goal, is the US Communist Party. The ideology of the party, however, is completely focused on a peaceful transition to the forms of socialist management and the nationalization of the main means of production.
American communists, according to their statements, do not accept any form of violence aimed at changing the existing system. Thanks to this, throughout its history, the US Communist Party was not banned, although it was repeatedly subjected to pressure from the authorities.
Joint criticism of the bourgeoissociety
If we compare the program of the Communist Party of America with a similar document of their Soviet counterparts, then along with many common features, significant differences also attract attention. They are united primarily by criticism of a society built on the basis of private property.
In the American program, for example, much attention is paid to the fact that modern capitalism, using the potential of the media under its control, to separate the working class and its allies, widely uses such unseemly methods as propaganda of anti-communism, national chauvinism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and sexism.
The difference in approaches to a number of topical issues
However, a number of points of the American program goes beyond the ideology adopted in the Soviet Union. For example, their attitude to issues related to the problems of sexual and gender minorities is in no way consistent with Soviet notions of morality. Unlike Soviet standards of thinking, overseas communists view LGBT communities as progressive forces whose role in society is steadily growing and which could become a reliable support in the struggle to achieve their goals.
In their opinion, homophobia and attacks on representatives of sexual minorities are a weapon in the hands of the ultra-right elements, aimed primarily at splitting the opposition. The program says that by speculating on distorted notions of morality and family values, the right is trying to profitout of homophobic sentiments among the working class and thus win them over.
The main provisions of the program of the American communists
One of the points of their program, the American Communists declare the fight for the rights of sexual minorities. Of course, their Soviet colleagues never stuttered about anything like that. There are many other fundamental differences in the programs of the communists, separated by an ocean.
Today, the main agenda of the Communist Party of America is the struggle for the unity of the working class, resistance to all forms of discrimination based on nationality, homophobia and racism. One of the demands is the establishment of a minimum wage in the country in the amount of twelve dollars an hour and an end to the persecution of illegal immigrants. In addition, the Communists insist on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and the reduction of the military budget.
The party that outlived its enemies
Today, the US Communist Party, which according to some sources does not exceed fifteen thousand people, consists of small cells created on the basis of clubs, shops, enterprises and all kinds of other establishments. Activists of such cells always encourage strangers to come to their meetings. This makes it possible to bring a new stream to the discussions held there.
Despite the fact that the US Communist Party is founded on the same ideological principles as all other Marxist-Leninist parties, and has common goals with them,Americans, as mentioned above, have never called for open violence to achieve their goals.
It's hard to say what is more here - humanism, cold calculation or an elementary sense of self-preservation, but this allowed the American communists to safely survive many of their enemies, who today have become only the property of history.
