An Outline Of The History Of Socialist And Communist Parties In The United States

A Timeline For The United States

This post provides an outline of the development of socialist and communist parties in the United States. The focus is on national political parties, not labor unions, not intentional communities, and not activist groups.

The Socialist Labor Party (SLP), the Socialist Party (SP), the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), and the Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) are the most long-lived parties considered here. Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is currently of some prominence, along with the Green Party (which I am not considering a socialist party). Many of these parties had associated newspapers and youth groups, with factional disputes among them. For example, one does not see in this timeline the division between the League for Industrial Democracy (LID) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) after the signing of the 1962 Port Huron statement, since neither the LID nor the SDS were political parties.

Socialist and Communist Political Parties

Party	Time	Comments
Social-Democratic Party of North America (SDPNA)	1874-1876	Marxist. Merged into SLP, along with the Workingmen's Party of Illinois, the Social Political Workingmen's Society of Cincinnati, and former members of the first international.
Socialist Labor Party (SLP)	1876 - 2008	First major socialist party in the USA. Originally named Workingmen's Party of the United States (WPUS). Changed name in 1877 to Socialistic Labor Party and later to SLP. Daniel De Leon editor of The Weekly People from 1890.
Social Democratic Federation (SDF)	1889 - 1897	Faction from SLP, merged with SDA. The faction fight involved the Henry George campaign for mayor of New York City.
Social Democracy of America (SDA)	1897 - 1898	Eugene Debs involved in founding. Included a faction from SLP. The part of SDA that did not go into SDPA founded the Cooperative Brotherhood, a colony or intentional community on Puget Sound.
Social Democratic Party of America (SDPA)	1898 - 1901	Formed out of parts of SDA
Socialist Party of America (SPA, SP, SPUSA)	1901 - 1972	Merger of SDPA and De Leon opponents in SLP. Norman Thomas presidential candidate in 1930s, David McReynolds the candidate in 1980 and 2000. Changed name to Social Democrats, USA in 1970s, with the Socialist Party USA as the continuing political party.
Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA)	1919 - present	Founders included Charles Ruthenberg, when expelled from the SPA. Also, Louis Fraina, as seen in the movie Reds. Member of the Communist (Third) International. Earl Browder and Gus Hall were some presidential candidates. Angela Davis was twice the candidate for vice president.
Communist Labor Party of America (CLPA)	1919 - 1921	Founders included John Reed, as seen in the movie Reds, when expelled from the SPA. Merged with faction of CP to form United Communist Party of America.
United Communist Party of America (UCPA)	1921	Short-lived merger of the CLPA and a faction of the CPUSA. Merged into the CPUSA.
Communist League of America (CLA)	1928 - 1934	Founders included James Cannon and Max Shachtman. Expelled from CP for supporting Leon Trotsky. Affiliated with the International Left Opposition (ILO).
American Workers Party (AWP)	1933 - 1934	Organized by James Burnham, Sidney Hook, and A. J. Muste.
Workers Party of the United States (WPUS)	1934 – 1936	Merger of AWP and CLA. Members joined the SPA on its dissolution.
Socialist Workers Party (SWP)	1937 - present	Split from SP. Member of the Fourth International, although James Burnham and Max Shachtman split with Trotsky.
Workers Party (WP)	1940 - 1957	Founded by members of the SWP who disagreed with Trotsky's view that the USSR was a 'degenerated workers' state'. Renamed in 1949 to be the Independent Socialist League (ISL)
Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC)	1973 - 1982	Founded by Michael Harrington leading faction out of SPA. Left wing of the possible.
New American Movement (NAM)	1971 – 1982	Formed from breakup of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)	1982 - present	Formed by merger of DSOC and NAM. Michael Harrington important here. Affiliated with the Socialist International for much of its life.

We see some commonalities that I expect to arise across many countries. Some sort of consolidation or beginning occurs around the time of the first international. In the United States, there is a tension around parties organized with recent immigrants, various regions, and native-born workers. With a small enough movement, frictions between personalities may be of some moment. Apparently some found De Leon irritating. A split between socialists and communists occurs about the time of World War I and the Russian Revolution. The exile of Trotsky is echoed in a further split among communists. More members join during the Great Depression. The New Left results in more dissension, with organizing among leftists not necessarily focusing on class or being seen in national political parties. On the other hand, some parties and factions keep on thinking about combining forces. Communists, at least, must react to changes in the Soviet Union, including its collapse in 1989. Some parties sometimes also have to consider how to combine legal and illegal activities. And the question of how to relate to electoral politics, including to the leftmost bourgeois party, is frequently posed. This need not be posed at the national level; the United States created a tradition of sewer socialism, with socialists elected as mayor or onto city boards, during the early twentieth century.