Chapter One: Men Without a Movement
For Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the winter of 1851 would prove the darkest days of their lives. In an instant the two communists found themselves not only despised and hated men in the only European nation that would give them refuge, but abandoned by the various leftists whom they once counted as allies. As the Queen desperately hung on to life after being shot in Manchester on October 18, 1851, the impact of the event had the exact opposite effect on the nation as the young communist, William Alexander Jones, had anticipated. Rather than usher in a new wave of revolution in Europe, the attempted assassination had given second life to the old guard as the Peelites, Tories and Conservatives quickly put aside their differences and rallied behind the Queen. Although badly fractured in the years leading up to the shooting of Victoria, they soon joined forces under a common banner: loyalty to the crown and banishment of the communists. Within weeks of the failed assassination attempt the liberal government of John Russell collapsed under accusations of collusion with the communists, due in large part over the erroneous rumor that his foreign secretary Lord Palmerston had openly conspired with both Marx and Engels during the revolutions of 1848.
For Marx and Engels, it appeared that the Revolution had in fact died in Manchester. All across Britain the nation rallied behind their Queen and before long the monarchy itself became glorified in a manner that was not dissimilar to the mythology that had grown around the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille. Paintings of the Queen in her carriage with the British flag as her tourniquet galvanized the nation, and her stedfast refusal to surrender to her injuries inspired the nation. The Queen has not only survived the assassins bullet, but she had emerged stronger because of it.
But most troubling for both Marx and Engels was what they would soon be forever known as “the final betrayal.” The two men, who had spent the previous three years destroying ideological rivals with impunity now found themselves under attack from their one time comrades. Both Marx and Engles had in the years leading up to 1851 succeeded in alienating many of their fellow leftists with not only their demands of complete adherence to ideological purity, but due to the at times personal nature of their attacks. Marx and Engles had at one point or another denounced almost every leader of the various leftist factions in Europe, and their reputation for bitterness had finally come back to haunt them. Almost immediately English socialist Edward Jones (still smarting from his denunciation by Engles for his refusal to embrace the Marx-Engles principles of communism entirely) launched an angry denunciation of his own, condemning both Marx and Engles as “barbarians, unworthy of the kind generosity of the English people.” The attack was quickly followed by a condemnation from the leaders of the chartist movement, including Julian Harney who openly called for their expulsion from England.
But most devastating to both men were the attacks from the far left. When word spread to Europe of Marx and Engels arrest, many fellow communists openly ridiculed the two men. Having been targeted by Engels at times sharp pen, these purported fellow revolutionaries couldn’t resist the opportunity to turn the tables on Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles. When former mentor Moses Hess learned of Engels arrest he used the opportunity to exact revenge against his former pupil, a man whom he had introduced to communism years before. Hess, who initially saw Engles as his star pupil, would soon find that the pupil had grown weary and distrustful of him. And he would discover that Engles was a man who could prove unscrupulous and venomous when seeking to destroy a perceived rival. Having seduced Hess’s wife, a former prostitute whom Hess had fallen in love with, Engles openly bragged about the sexual encounter. When Hess denounced Engels, accusing him of rape, the young Prussian offered to publicly proffer the letters written to him by Mrs. Hess proving that it was a consensual encounter. The friendship ended and Hess began to resemble a tragic Falstaffian like figure in the communist movement. For Hess, the hatred and anger at Engles never subsided, and his desire to destroy Engles soon overtook his adherence to the revolutionary movement. After the shooting, Hess condemned Marx and Engels and criticized them for a “complete lack of understanding of communism.” But most damning, he then condemned them both for “setting the revolution back” before calling for the Communist League to expel them both. For Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles, it appeared that they had become the Falstaffian figures relegated to the dustbin of history. It appeared that they were men without a movement…but a peculiar thing would transpire on their way to the dustbin.
Although they no longer had a movement or a party, they still had their opus magum. And all across Europe disillusioned leftists were learning of a curious pamphlet that was circulating all across the continent. Though outlawed and banned across Europe, its status as “the most dangerous and damnable filth every put on paper” had only increased its popularity. Though depressed and under house arrest, prohibited from even contacting each other, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were quickly emerging as figurative leaders of a communist Sparta holding firm at the gates of Thermopile. Unbeknownst to them both, the Communist Manifesto had made them the most feared men in Europe.
December 22, 1851: London, England
Alexander Cockburn, Attorney General for the Crown, could no longer hide his contempt for the disheveled German man who sat before him in shackles. His attorney was conciliatory but the son of a mill owner continued to hide his treason behind a wall of silence.
“You have what you want sir,” the attorney said as he placed his hand on his clients shoulder. “The jury has convicted the man who is ultimately responsible for this horrific act against our Queen. And I believe there can be no doubt that Mr. William Alexander Jones will hang for this treasonous act. You have expressed a desire to see this transpire. But sir, you also cannot deny that there is no evidence against my client, Mr. Engles. You cannot deny that this man is innocent of these charges of conspiracy. Sir, justice demands that this man be released. Our Queen has survived and the nation knows the guilt of the misguided young man who badly misinterpreted my clients words. But again sir, my client knew nothing of this horrific act and you cannot deny the evidence that I have presented to you for your consideration. Sir, to try Mr. Engles is not necessary. Sir, a trial would be…unjust.”
Cockburn glared at the shackled man, who continued to meet his gaze.
“Ask your client this good sir,” Cockburn said as he stood up, “a simple question sir, and one that will be of no challenge for any gentleman to answer. Ask him his opinion.”
“Sir?” the attorney asked nervously.
“I would like him to opine on the circumstances that has led him here,” Cockburn said firmly. “I would like to hear, from his own lips, his condemnation of this act, or, if not, for him to profess his support of this act.”
The attorney shifted uncomfortably in his chair as his client refused to speak.
“Good sir, my client has elected to remain silent at this time-“
“Your client has embraced terrorism it would seem. He has embraced it with his inaction and blessed it with his silence.”
“Sir,” the attorney said softly, “my client has lost everything. His father’s partners have usurped him from the company that bore his name.”
“Yes,” Cockburn said with unmistakable glee as he leaned forward to look into the eyes of Engles, “Erman & Engels is no more. Having the name of a traitor is seems is bad for business, especially in the cotton industry. Your father lost everything is seems…thanks to you. Perhaps that is why he disowned you so publicly.”
The shackled man seemed to flinch, ever so slightly, at the mention of his father.
“Of course, he isn’t the only one who has disowned you. Your friends have all abandoned you, everyone except that Jew who helped you right that vile pamphlet…and your mother.”
Engels raised his head at the mention of his mother, unable to hide his curiosity, and his concern.
“Yes, it appears so,” Cockburn said as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a letter. “She wrote you this very kind letter, professing her love for you and imploring you to take your father’s advice. The same advice you refused to entertain back in Paris…and in Brussels.”
Cockburn dropped the folded letter in front of Engels.
“And perhaps it moved me as well,” he said disingenuously. “For you see, I find great merit in her plea. You cannot return to Berman. That much is clear. And the Prussians have stated in no uncertain terms that you would be hung if ever to return there. The French do not want you, nor do the Belgians. But it should come as little surprise to you that we don’t much desire your presence either.”
The attorney picked up the letter and unfolded it as he silently read it.
“Alas sir, you seek an offer,” Cockburn said with unmistakable contempt as he turned to the attorney. “I have but one for you and your client and that Jew he has taken under his wing. I will dismiss these charges today. I shall drop this case against both your client and Mr. Marx.”
Friedrich Engels looked up at the Attorney General with suspicion.
“But know this Mr. Engels, in seven days these charges shall be refilled against both of you if either of you are still in this country. I will have these constables escort you to Liverpool where you will board the S.S. Baltic. It seems your mother has made the necessary arrangements and secured your ticket, and although she has made no such accommodations for Mr. Marx, I have little question that we will be able to secure him passage as well. Mr. Engles, it is time you take heed of the advice of your father. It is time for you to go to America.”
