I thought something similar. If the wave of 1848 immigrants is slightly more concentrated in Texas due to Marx's wide correspondence could you eventually see a break-away unionist state (not unlike West Virginia)? It could even be called Houston since he was against Texan secession.
What if Karl Marx had Moved to Texas in 1843?
- Thread starter VaultJumper
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"Easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man into heaven" Matthew 19:23-26
Marc
Donor
As I noted before, Marx was an intellectual at the Dante level, a brilliant philosopher, and one of the most accomplished scholars of the 19th century.
That man can't exist in Texas, pure and simple, and is very unlikely to exist anywhere in the South.
Now if he smartly headed off to New York or Boston?
That man can't exist in Texas, pure and simple, and is very unlikely to exist anywhere in the South.
Now if he smartly headed off to New York or Boston?
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Just had a crazy thought what if Marx being in Texas and loathed by the elite sends him into the frontier and the waiting arms of the Comanche. What effect would his philosophy and experiences have on the tribes resisting colonization in that period? Do exiled German revolutionaries and failed 48er's pack their bags and start fighting against the Republic of Texas and the United States at the very end of the Texas-Indian Wars?
First, Marx was a radical in early 1840s. He exposed his belief about the necessity of a proletarian revolution in 1844 and he was an atheist from years before. No way he could become acquainted to the slavocracy elites or pro-slavery. I would love a not-anti-religion Marx but I fear that in 1843 is simply too late.
Second, unfortunately Marx shared some typical 1800s racial points, as thinking blacks were more "animal" then whites (it seems he was not happy after his daughter married a French mixed man, probably that could be the cause) and the Mexicans were "lazy". Nevertheless this never influenced his political philosophy, where he was always a strong opponent of slavery, and he expressed this points only in some private letters.
But he thought better about native americans: he and Engels elaborated their "primitive communism" conception reading Lewis Henry Morgan's description of Iroquois communities. So probably, although his dream will be always a revolution of industrial workers, he could easily see Comamche and Navajo tribes as part of original primitive communism.
At the end I think he will end as Carl Adolph Douai (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Carl_Adolph_Douai), with which he could partner, maybe more successfully (a German free state in western Texas was a Douai's idea, Marx could rally Germans and Natives in support and break away. Also Douai was a founding member of Socialist Workingmen Party, so maybe Marx will be able to introduce Marxism in American political spectrum). At the end he will be remembered as the John Brown's philosopher, a sort of abolitionist Martin Luther, while Engels will be the more industrial workers focused writer.
Second, unfortunately Marx shared some typical 1800s racial points, as thinking blacks were more "animal" then whites (it seems he was not happy after his daughter married a French mixed man, probably that could be the cause) and the Mexicans were "lazy". Nevertheless this never influenced his political philosophy, where he was always a strong opponent of slavery, and he expressed this points only in some private letters.
But he thought better about native americans: he and Engels elaborated their "primitive communism" conception reading Lewis Henry Morgan's description of Iroquois communities. So probably, although his dream will be always a revolution of industrial workers, he could easily see Comamche and Navajo tribes as part of original primitive communism.
At the end I think he will end as Carl Adolph Douai (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Carl_Adolph_Douai), with which he could partner, maybe more successfully (a German free state in western Texas was a Douai's idea, Marx could rally Germans and Natives in support and break away. Also Douai was a founding member of Socialist Workingmen Party, so maybe Marx will be able to introduce Marxism in American political spectrum). At the end he will be remembered as the John Brown's philosopher, a sort of abolitionist Martin Luther, while Engels will be the more industrial workers focused writer.
In another world Marx became the creator of the real life Van Der Linde gang, launching raids against slave plantations during the civil war and running weapons to the indians before fleeing back to Europe.He and his three closest disciples swear to ride and fight together to the end. The quartet become known as the Marx Brothers.
History Learner
Banned
Irony of ironies would be Marx, whom along with Engels was very dismissive of Mexico and Mexicans at large, rallied Northern proletarians in support of the Mexican War and thus got All Mexico through.
History Learner
Banned
Also, there's been a lot of talk of Marx leading some sort of racial equality movement; I'd encourage everyone to read what the man said about his daughter's husband and his own statements on Friedrich Lassalle.
Why would German be widely spoken in Texas just because of Marx? A lot of influential Germans have lived in the US before and since and we didn't change our language because of them.
The situation in the USA was very different compared to EU. EU had a huge number of dirt poor workers living and working in horrible conditions - developing of leftist ideas was guaranteed. From another point of view this ment very cheap labour available in abundance. OTOH the USA lacked this. This basically ment that workers were in a much better position compared to their European counterparts when talking about wages. This ment better conditions for the workers and ment that they were less likely to develope and adopt leftist ideas.
I mean, the slaves certainly worked in miserable conditions, and they made up a large percentage of the labor force. That shouldn't be glossed over.
