USA, Communist Party: when founded, ideology, activity

In 1919, a significant event occurred in the life of American political activists who shared the ideology of Marxism-Leninism: two of their main groups, one led by Charles Rutenberg and the other by John Reed, managed to unite, and as a result, the Communist Party of the United States of America .

Beginning of Party Formation

Since the beginning of its existence, it has come under the tough press of the American justice, becoming the object of a number of power actions aimed at combating the so-called "red threat". We should remember at least the famous "raids of Palmer", directed against left-wing radicals and all kinds of anarchists, as well as a number of similar actions.

The Communist Party of the United States received its current name only in 1929, in the previous period it was called the Workers' Party of America. It must be admitted that in the first half of the 20th century this was the most influential party of Marxist persuasion.

The periods of rise and fall

Among the numerous political trends that tried to influence the American proletarians in one way or another, the most prominent role in the working-class movement of those years was played by the Communist Party of the United States. TSB - The Great Soviet Encyclopedia - cites data according to which during this period its members were more than one hundred thousand people. According to researchers, the peak of the party's activity falls on 1939.

However, in the fifties there was a significant decline in the popularity of Communists. This is explained by the fact that for many it became obvious that their close and, as it turned out, selfless cooperation with the government of the USSR, as well as support for all kinds of "new left" and "pacifists".

Dirty money

This was not a fiction, since it was documented that back in 1987, Soviet Communists transferred nearly $ 3 million to their overseas colleagues' accounts. However, then perestroika came, and Mikhail Gorbachev blocked their financial receipts.

As it became known in recent years, the Communist Party of the USA was not a useless sponger of the CPSU, but conscientiously worked through 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 overwhelming majority of people convicted of cooperation with Soviet intelligence were members of the Communist Party.

In July 1948, the US Congress held a public hearing on this case. The main witnesses were Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley - former Soviet agents, as well as many members of the Communist Party, convicted of espionage. Their testimony was irrefutably proved by transcripts of radiograms sent from the territory of the USA. The Communist Party, which had already lost popularity by then, as a result of these exposures, acquired the image of the "fifth column".

Hard times

At the turn of the forties and fifties, about one hundred and forty Communists, including members of the party and its functionaries, were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment by a court decision. The basis for this was the law, known as the "Act of Smith", which provides for punishments for individuals, in one way or another, that contribute to the overthrow of a legitimate government.

Due to the fact that the range of actions falling under the articles of this law was outlined in a very vague way, it could be used to send anyone who was unwanted, which was often undesirable, and often used the power of America. In the same period, a national trade union congress took place, at which it was decided to exclude eleven trade unions supported by the Communist Party of the United States. Thus, the labor movement showed its desire to distance itself from a compromised political organization.

Period of "McCarthyism"

Since the beginning of the fifties, the movement of so-called McCarthyites - supporters of the US Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy - has started in the country, advocating the active 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 United States found itself. The ban on its activities was not imposed, but, nevertheless, the stability and internal structure of the organization were greatly shaken.

To top it off, the activities of the Communists became the object of the FBI's persecution in the framework of the program that was launched 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 structure, and those functionaries who were still at large hastened to publicly declare their loyalty to the authorities.

Replenishment of the party series in the sixties

In the sixties, the Communist Party of the United States somewhat intensified its activities due to the entry into it of pacifists - members of the social movement, who advocated peace and the rejection of the solution of international problems by military means. At the same time, new leftists joined the ranks of the communists.

They were representatives of organizations of Marxist persuasion, but in their ideology they occupied the extreme left positions. They spoke out against the lack of spirituality of the Western world, the widespread desire to enrich and violate moral values. Communist leaders in those years actively supported the Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King, who was subsequently murdered.

Party split of the late eighties

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 literal sense of the word. Since 1989, the Kremlin has stopped providing financial support to them.

The lack of money shook the ideological inflexibility of some American comrades, and at an extraordinary session held in 1991, part of them advocated the rejection of Leninism and a reorientation towards democratic socialism.

These "refuseniks", it must be admitted, turned out to be in the minority and subsequently, after leaving the party, they founded an independent political organization. However, by their departure, they split the Communist ranks, which significantly weakened their former party members.

A party that denies violence

Among the world's political movements, which declare their ultimate goal of the socialist revolution, is the Communist Party of the United States. The ideology of the party, however, is completely oriented toward a peaceful transition to forms of socialist management and the nationalization of the basic means of production.

The American Communists, according to their statements, do not accept any forms of violence aimed at changing the existing system. It is thanks to this that throughout the whole history the Communist Party of the USA was not banned, although it was repeatedly subjected to pressure from the authorities.

Joint criticism of bourgeois society

If we compare the program of the Communist Party of America with the analogous document of their Soviet colleagues, 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, widely uses such unseemly methods as the propaganda of anti-communism, national chauvinism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and sexism to separate the working class and its allies .

The difference in approaches to a number of topical issues

However, a number of points in the American program go beyond the ideology adopted in the Soviet Union. For example, in no way does it agree with the Soviet notions of morality about their attitude to issues related to the problems of sexual and gender minorities. In contrast to Soviet standards of thinking, transatlantic communists view LGBT communities as progressive forces, whose role in society is steadily growing, and which could become a reliable pillar in the struggle to achieve their goals.

In their opinion, homophobia and attacks on representatives of sexual minorities are weapons in the hands of 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 tries to benefit from homophobic sentiments among the working class and thus attract it to their side.

The main provisions of the program of the American Communists

One of the points of its program, the American Communists declare the struggle 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, divided by the ocean.

Today the main provisions of the program of the Communist Party of America are the struggle for unity of the working class, resistance to all forms of discrimination based on ethnicity, homophobia and racism. One of the requirements is the establishment in the country of a minimum wage of $ 12 per hour and the cessation of the prosecution of illegal emigrants. In addition, the Communists insist on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and the reduction of the military budget.

The party that survived its enemies

Today, the Communist Party of the United States, whose number, according to some sources, does not exceed fifteen thousand people, consists of small cells created on the basis of clubs, shops, businesses and all kinds of other institutions. Activists of such cells are always encouraged to come to their meetings of strangers. This gives an opportunity to introduce a new stream into the discussions held there.

Despite the fact that the Communist Party of the United States is based on the same ideological principles as all other Marxist-Leninist parties, and has common goals, the Americans, as mentioned above, have never called for open violence to achieve their goals.

It is difficult to say what is more - humanism, cold calculation or an elementary sense of self-preservation, but it allowed the American Communists to safely survive many of their enemies, which have become today only the property of history.