Reaction and Reaction to the Reaction: The Four Red Years in the USA
“GRAPESHOT, n. An argument which the future is preparing in answer to the demands of American Socialism”: Ambrose Bierce, The Devils’ Dictionary, 1911
The US is often seen as the second center of the worldwide “Four Red Years” besides France, and while the events in America did not reach the level of the events in France, one the distinguishing features of the American Four Red Years is that the level of militancy was roughly equal throughout the period, unlike in France where after the revolution the militancy was low relative to the worldwide militancy.
The Four Red Years in the USA is important not only for its economic and political components, but also for its cultural component. The famed “counterculture” struggled against racism, patriarchy and homophobia and for sexual and psychoactive experimentation. While the counterculture was global, America was its center, providing inspiration to similar movements across the world.
There were two main immediate causes to the events in America. The first was the events in France which inspired students and leftist. However, during 1968-9 this movement was composed largely of students, far- left groups and the worst oppressed parts of society. This movement was largely disconnected from the white working class, indeed many in this movement were hostile to the white working class, seeing it as irredeemably corrupted by racism and imperialism. What brought a significant part of the white working class into this movement was the attacks made by President Goldwater and the Republican Congress, against the welfare state.
Goldwater was elected in 1964, but the Democratic Congress, under heavy pressure from trade unions, prevented him from fully carrying out his program. After 1968 vicious attacks were made on the living standards of the working class. This caused large parts of the working class, many of whom voted for Goldwater, to fight against him. Substantial parts of the working class, though not as large as the left paints it, were attracted to the far left. The membership of the STLA grew exponentially, and even the IWW reached a strength it did not have for decades.
The many struggles of this era forged strong ties of solidarity between the various fighters against oppression and exploitation. But the bourgeoisie reaction was fierce too. The Four Red Years deeply divided American society. The 1972 election of the liberal Hubert Humphrey is seen as the end of the American Four Red Years, but his concessions to the working class only managed to “put a plaster” on the huge rifts dividing the USA.
By the time of the Four Red Years the CPUSA was an isolated sect, both from the labor movement and from other left groups and activists. The main force of the American Left was the SUA (Socialist United Alliance), an alliance of the Trotskyist “Socialist Workers Party”, the Deleonist “Socialist Labor Party”, the multi- tendency but largely centrist “Socialist Party of America” and the revolutionary trade union “Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance”.
The SUA grew slowly but steadily from the mid- 50’s. Two cities where the SUA was especially successful were Milwaukee, where Frank Zeidler from the Socialist Party served as mayor from 1948, and Minneapolis, where the American Trotskyists were stronger than anywhere else. The history of Trotskyism in Minneapolis goes back to 1934 when the Trotskyists played an important role in the large teamster strike. Wartime persecution virtually destroyed the Trotskyist movement in Minneapolis, but after the war the SWP managed to rebuild itself in the city. From the mid- 50’s the SWP became a major force in the city, expanding its influence beyond the teamsters. In 1956 the SWP moved its national headquarters from New York to Minneapolis. From 1965 more workers in Minnesota were part of the STLA than the AFL- CIO. The Four Red Years consolidated the control of the reds on Minneapolis.
In 1968 a leading SWP member, Harry DeBoer, was elected as mayor of Minneapolis, and two years later he was elected as the Governor of Minnesota. Farrell Dobbs became in 1970 the first “red” senator, while Minneapolis and Milwaukee both sent members of the SUA (SWP and SPA respectively) to the House of Representatives. The policies and rhetoric of Harry DeBoer and the SWP caused a “bourgeoisie flight”, as the rich both physically and economically left the city. Worker Cooperatives filled the vacuum, leading many to call Minnesota the “Minnesotan Republic of Councils”, or the “Ninth Member of the Bombay Pact” (after Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Bolivia, South China, Hungary, Cambodia and Laos), and indeed there were many links between the “Red State” and the Bombay Pact countries.
In 1971 the “Eugene Debs University” was opened in Minneapolis. It was openly political, with courses on “Dialectical Materialism” and “Class Struggle” obligatory for all students. It was completely free, though students had to do some (paid) work. Funding came from the STLA, the SUA and from private donations. The purpose of the Eugene Debs University was twofold: the first was to provide free education to the children of the working class who could often not afford higher education, the second was to provide educated militants for the SUA and STLA.
The Four Red Years happened at a time where the old leadership of the socialist movement in America was dying or retiring. Norman Thomas died in 1968, and his funeral was a show of force for the socialist movement and one of the opening salvos of the Four Red Years in the US. James P. Cannon slowly faded from political life, dying in 1974. Max Shachtman died earlier, in 1972, but remained fully active to his last day. Arnold Petersen, who was old enough to be nominated as National Secretary of the SLP by Daniel De Leon himself, retired in 1969 and died in 1976.
While those who replaced the old leadership were definitely able men, they were not the colossal figures their predecessors were. The Socialist Party of America selected Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler as their Chairman. Frank Zeidler was a competent administrator but no visionary or a man of ideas. In the SLP, the retired Arnold Petersen was replaced by Eric Hass. The SWP probably suffered the most. Its trouble was that it had many prominent leaders, but no one of them could claim leadership of the party. In the end it was decided to create a six- men chairmanship, to replace the two- men leadership of Cannon and Shachtman. This chairmanship had three Cannonites: Farrell Dobbs, Harry DeBoer and Jack Barnes, and three Shachtmanites: Hal Draper, Bayard Rustin and Michael Harrington.
As the SUA grew so did the reaction against it. The long term influence of the Four Red Years were left not only by those fighting against the establishment, but also those fighting to preserve it. The ultra- conservative President, Barry Goldwater, fought against worker and student occupations, gutted social services and regulations and attacked trade unions, promoting social conservatism, laissez- faire capitalism, fervent anti- socialism and what his supporters called the “promotion of american interests” and his opponents called imperialism. Quickly becoming the bête noire of the left, one of his greatest supporters was William F. Buckley Jr., the intellectual leader of the American Right, who preached conservatism from his popular interview show, Firing Line. Even in a time of great division in US society, William F. Buckley Jr. was willing to talk with the other side, his first guest on the show was Norman Thomas in 1966, and Michael Harrington being a frequent guest.
The far- right prospered by the rise of far- left. The “John Birch Society” grew immensely and organized various actions against the SUA and the STLA. But the strongest force in the far- right was the “Citizens’ Alliance” , dedicated to fighting against racial integration and socialism. Formed in 1954, they became a strong force outside the South during the Four Red Years. Against the “Citizens’ Alliance” the SUA formed the “Antifascist Alliance”, which was often involved in physical altercations with the CA.
The highpoint of the Four Red Years came in the 1972 elections. The SUA decided to run A. Phillip Randolph, but although he did receive much more votes than any other Socialist presidential candidate, 11% as against the 6% won by Eugene Debs in 1912, and he did manage to win electoral votes, 10 from Minnesota, but he did not manage to win the hearts of most workers, who preferred to vote for Hubert Humphrey, who promised to reverse the cuts. By the time Hubert Humphrey officially became president, his promises were enough to end the Four Red Years.
The legacy of the Four Red Years in America is hard to overstate. Women, gay and sexual liberation movements arose, Socialism, even Revolutionary Socialism, entered into the US Congress and dominated one state, Minnesota, and the American worker gained class- consciousness.
“GRAPESHOT, n. An argument which the future is preparing in answer to the demands of American Socialism”: Ambrose Bierce, The Devils’ Dictionary, 1911
The US is often seen as the second center of the worldwide “Four Red Years” besides France, and while the events in America did not reach the level of the events in France, one the distinguishing features of the American Four Red Years is that the level of militancy was roughly equal throughout the period, unlike in France where after the revolution the militancy was low relative to the worldwide militancy.
The Four Red Years in the USA is important not only for its economic and political components, but also for its cultural component. The famed “counterculture” struggled against racism, patriarchy and homophobia and for sexual and psychoactive experimentation. While the counterculture was global, America was its center, providing inspiration to similar movements across the world.
There were two main immediate causes to the events in America. The first was the events in France which inspired students and leftist. However, during 1968-9 this movement was composed largely of students, far- left groups and the worst oppressed parts of society. This movement was largely disconnected from the white working class, indeed many in this movement were hostile to the white working class, seeing it as irredeemably corrupted by racism and imperialism. What brought a significant part of the white working class into this movement was the attacks made by President Goldwater and the Republican Congress, against the welfare state.
Goldwater was elected in 1964, but the Democratic Congress, under heavy pressure from trade unions, prevented him from fully carrying out his program. After 1968 vicious attacks were made on the living standards of the working class. This caused large parts of the working class, many of whom voted for Goldwater, to fight against him. Substantial parts of the working class, though not as large as the left paints it, were attracted to the far left. The membership of the STLA grew exponentially, and even the IWW reached a strength it did not have for decades.
The many struggles of this era forged strong ties of solidarity between the various fighters against oppression and exploitation. But the bourgeoisie reaction was fierce too. The Four Red Years deeply divided American society. The 1972 election of the liberal Hubert Humphrey is seen as the end of the American Four Red Years, but his concessions to the working class only managed to “put a plaster” on the huge rifts dividing the USA.
By the time of the Four Red Years the CPUSA was an isolated sect, both from the labor movement and from other left groups and activists. The main force of the American Left was the SUA (Socialist United Alliance), an alliance of the Trotskyist “Socialist Workers Party”, the Deleonist “Socialist Labor Party”, the multi- tendency but largely centrist “Socialist Party of America” and the revolutionary trade union “Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance”.
The SUA grew slowly but steadily from the mid- 50’s. Two cities where the SUA was especially successful were Milwaukee, where Frank Zeidler from the Socialist Party served as mayor from 1948, and Minneapolis, where the American Trotskyists were stronger than anywhere else. The history of Trotskyism in Minneapolis goes back to 1934 when the Trotskyists played an important role in the large teamster strike. Wartime persecution virtually destroyed the Trotskyist movement in Minneapolis, but after the war the SWP managed to rebuild itself in the city. From the mid- 50’s the SWP became a major force in the city, expanding its influence beyond the teamsters. In 1956 the SWP moved its national headquarters from New York to Minneapolis. From 1965 more workers in Minnesota were part of the STLA than the AFL- CIO. The Four Red Years consolidated the control of the reds on Minneapolis.
In 1968 a leading SWP member, Harry DeBoer, was elected as mayor of Minneapolis, and two years later he was elected as the Governor of Minnesota. Farrell Dobbs became in 1970 the first “red” senator, while Minneapolis and Milwaukee both sent members of the SUA (SWP and SPA respectively) to the House of Representatives. The policies and rhetoric of Harry DeBoer and the SWP caused a “bourgeoisie flight”, as the rich both physically and economically left the city. Worker Cooperatives filled the vacuum, leading many to call Minnesota the “Minnesotan Republic of Councils”, or the “Ninth Member of the Bombay Pact” (after Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Bolivia, South China, Hungary, Cambodia and Laos), and indeed there were many links between the “Red State” and the Bombay Pact countries.
In 1971 the “Eugene Debs University” was opened in Minneapolis. It was openly political, with courses on “Dialectical Materialism” and “Class Struggle” obligatory for all students. It was completely free, though students had to do some (paid) work. Funding came from the STLA, the SUA and from private donations. The purpose of the Eugene Debs University was twofold: the first was to provide free education to the children of the working class who could often not afford higher education, the second was to provide educated militants for the SUA and STLA.
The Four Red Years happened at a time where the old leadership of the socialist movement in America was dying or retiring. Norman Thomas died in 1968, and his funeral was a show of force for the socialist movement and one of the opening salvos of the Four Red Years in the US. James P. Cannon slowly faded from political life, dying in 1974. Max Shachtman died earlier, in 1972, but remained fully active to his last day. Arnold Petersen, who was old enough to be nominated as National Secretary of the SLP by Daniel De Leon himself, retired in 1969 and died in 1976.
While those who replaced the old leadership were definitely able men, they were not the colossal figures their predecessors were. The Socialist Party of America selected Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler as their Chairman. Frank Zeidler was a competent administrator but no visionary or a man of ideas. In the SLP, the retired Arnold Petersen was replaced by Eric Hass. The SWP probably suffered the most. Its trouble was that it had many prominent leaders, but no one of them could claim leadership of the party. In the end it was decided to create a six- men chairmanship, to replace the two- men leadership of Cannon and Shachtman. This chairmanship had three Cannonites: Farrell Dobbs, Harry DeBoer and Jack Barnes, and three Shachtmanites: Hal Draper, Bayard Rustin and Michael Harrington.
As the SUA grew so did the reaction against it. The long term influence of the Four Red Years were left not only by those fighting against the establishment, but also those fighting to preserve it. The ultra- conservative President, Barry Goldwater, fought against worker and student occupations, gutted social services and regulations and attacked trade unions, promoting social conservatism, laissez- faire capitalism, fervent anti- socialism and what his supporters called the “promotion of american interests” and his opponents called imperialism. Quickly becoming the bête noire of the left, one of his greatest supporters was William F. Buckley Jr., the intellectual leader of the American Right, who preached conservatism from his popular interview show, Firing Line. Even in a time of great division in US society, William F. Buckley Jr. was willing to talk with the other side, his first guest on the show was Norman Thomas in 1966, and Michael Harrington being a frequent guest.
The far- right prospered by the rise of far- left. The “John Birch Society” grew immensely and organized various actions against the SUA and the STLA. But the strongest force in the far- right was the “Citizens’ Alliance” , dedicated to fighting against racial integration and socialism. Formed in 1954, they became a strong force outside the South during the Four Red Years. Against the “Citizens’ Alliance” the SUA formed the “Antifascist Alliance”, which was often involved in physical altercations with the CA.
The highpoint of the Four Red Years came in the 1972 elections. The SUA decided to run A. Phillip Randolph, but although he did receive much more votes than any other Socialist presidential candidate, 11% as against the 6% won by Eugene Debs in 1912, and he did manage to win electoral votes, 10 from Minnesota, but he did not manage to win the hearts of most workers, who preferred to vote for Hubert Humphrey, who promised to reverse the cuts. By the time Hubert Humphrey officially became president, his promises were enough to end the Four Red Years.
The legacy of the Four Red Years in America is hard to overstate. Women, gay and sexual liberation movements arose, Socialism, even Revolutionary Socialism, entered into the US Congress and dominated one state, Minnesota, and the American worker gained class- consciousness.
