American Labor Party
Encyclopedia
The American Labor Party was a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 established in 1936 which was active almost exclusively in the state of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...

 (SP) who had established themselves as the Social Democratic Federation (SDF). The party was intended to parallel the role of the British Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

, serving as an umbrella organization to unite New York social democrats of the SDF with trade unionists who would otherwise support candidates of the Republican and Democratic parties.

Establishing the ALP

In 1934, the factional war which had dominated the life of the Socialist Party of America had reached a turning point. After beating back a challenge to their position and authority in 1932, the New York-based "Old Guard
Old Guard faction
The Old Guard faction was an organized grouping of Marxists in the Socialist Party of America who sought to retain the organization's traditional orientation towards electoral politics by fighting generally younger party members who factionally organized to promote greater efforts at direct action...

" of the party had been resoundingly defeated at the 1934 National Convention of the Socialist Party. A coalition of radical
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...

 pacifists surrounding the charismatic former preacher Norman Thomas
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...

 and a growing body of young Marxists known as the Militant faction
Militant faction
The Militant faction was an organized grouping of Marxists in the Socialist Party of America who sought to steer that organization from its orientation towards electoral politics and towards direct action and revolutionary socialism. The faction emerged during 1930 and 1931 and achieved practical...

 had won control of the organization's governing National Executive Committee and passed a provocative Declaration of Principles
1934 Declaration of Principles
The 1934 Declaration of Principles was a political platform of the Socialist Party of America passed at the May 1934 National Convention held in Detroit, Michigan...

, which the Old Guard regarded as a direct call to insurrection. Further galling, from the perspective of the Old Guard, was the eagerness of Thomas and the Militants to build what they called an "all-inclusive party," bringing radical intellectuals into party ranks from various oppositional communist orbits and working with the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....

 in united front
United front
The united front is a form of struggle that may be pursued by revolutionaries. The basic theory of the united front tactic was first developed by the Comintern, an international communist organisation created by revolutionaries in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.According to the theses of...

 actions.

The New York Old Guard returned home to organize themselves as the Committee for the Preservation of the Socialist Party
Committee for the Preservation of the Socialist Party
The Committee for the Preservation of the Socialist Party was a short-lived organized factional grouping in the Socialist Party of America established in 1934 by its New York-based "Old Guard" faction...

, raising funds, selecting a "Provisional Executive Committee," building a mailing list, and maintaining an office in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The Old Guard, headed by former New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

man Louis Waldman, also took steps to lock up the ownership and funds of various party-affiliated institutions, including the Jewish Daily Forward, the English weekly "The New Leader
The New Leader
The New Leader was a political and cultural magazine begun in 1924 by a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, including Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas, and published in New York by the American Labor Conference on International Affairs. Its orientation is liberal and...

," and the Rand School of Social Science
Rand School of Social Science
The Rand School of Social Science was formed in New York City by adherents of the Socialist Party of America in 1906. The school aimed to provide a broad education to workers, imparting a politicizing class-consciousness, and additionally served as a research bureau, a publisher, and the operator...

.

A year and a half of bitter factional warfare ensued. Finally, in January 1936, the governing National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party revoked the charter of its dissident New York state organization. The New York Old Guard and their cothinkers exited the Socialist Party and reorganized themselves as the Social Democratic Federation of America (SDF).

The SDF sought to build close relations with the existing trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 movement and disliked, distrusted, and disavowed many of their former Socialist Party comrades and their pretensions to electoral office. In the New York municipal elections of 1935, the Socialists had polled nearly 200,000 votes, a showing which threatened to be a "spoiler" for the chances of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 in the forthcoming 1936 presidential elections
United States presidential election, 1936
The United States presidential election of 1936 was the most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States in terms of electoral votes. In terms of the popular vote, it was the third biggest victory since the election of 1820, which was not seriously contested.The election took...

. This view was shared with the Social Democrats by many in the New York trade union movement, who sought to bolster Roosevelt's chances in some way.

On April 1, 1936, Sidney Hillman
Sidney Hillman
Sidney Hillman was an American labor leader. Head of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, he was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and in marshaling labor's support for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Democratic Party.-Early years:Sidney Hillman was...

, John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...

, and other officials of the unions of the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...

 and the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...

 established Labor's Non-Partisan League (LNPL), an organization akin to the modern political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...

, designed to channel money and manpower to the campaigns of Roosevelt and others standing strongly for the declared interests of organized labor.

During the summer of 1936, the New York state organization of LNPL transformed itself into an independent political party in an effort to bolster Roosevelt's electoral chances in the state by providing him access on a second ballot line. The opportunity to pull the lever for the new American Labor Party, it was hoped, would siphon away a good percentage of the nearly 200,000 votes cast in 1932 for Norman Thomas and the Socialists.

The ALP in the elections from 1936 to 1948

The ALP's most common strategy was to co-endorse the candidate of one or the other of the two major parties, based upon the perceived favorability of each to the cause of labor. It also nominated its own candidates for some positions, offering competition when neither of the two old party candidates passed muster. Although the organization was founded primarily as a vehicle to help assure Roosevelt's victory in New York in the 1936 campaign, in that election one of its candidates, Herbert Lehman, had polled over 50,000 votes on the ALP line. Under New York state law, this meant that the ALP was henceforth qualified to register voters and conduct primary elections, thus insuring the organization's continued existence as a political party in the state.

The organization was largely funded by the rather conservative needle trades unions of the state. The ALP found itself $50,000 in debt at the end of the 1936 campaign, but substantial contributions from labor groups erased the red ink. The ILGWU itself contributed nearly $142,000 to the 1936 campaign, a relatively huge sum for a third party campaign, given that only $26,000 from all sources had been raised and spent by Norman Thomas' Socialist campaign in the previous presidential election. Party decision-making in the first year was handled by ILGWU executive secretary Fred Umhey, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations...

's Jacob Potofsky
Jacob Potofsky
Jacob Samuel Potofsky was an American trade unionist.He was president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and was known for his skills as a conciliator within the union movement. His work landed him on the master list of Nixon political opponents.He died in New York City of...

, and Alex Rose
Alex Rose
Alex Rose was a labor leader in the American Hatters' Union, a co-founder of the American Labor Party, and vice-chairman of the Liberal Party of New York.Rose, the son of a wealthy leather tanner, was born in Warsaw, Poland...

 of the Milliners'.

The success of the ALP in its initial campaign was a beacon for other radical organizations. Although its constitution specifically barred Communists from the organization, there was no enforcement for this provision and large numbers flocked to registration as ALP members from the Communist-led United Electrical Workers, Transport Workers
Transport Workers Union
Transport Workers Union may refer to:* The Transport Workers Union of America* The Transport Workers Union of Australia* The Swedish Transport Workers' Union...

, and State, County, and Municipal Workers.

The chief race in 1937 was that for Mayor of New York, pitting pro-Roosevelt progressive Republican Fiorello LaGuardia against a Democratic state supreme court justice, Jeremiah Mahoney. As LaGuardia was on excellent terms with the New York needle trades unions and was a leading spirit in the formation of the ALP, he was a natural choice for the organization's nomination. Democrat Mahoney countered by red-baiting
Red-baiting
Red-baiting is the act of accusing, denouncing, attacking or persecuting an individual or group as communist, socialist, or anarchist, or sympathetic toward communism, socialism, or anarchism. The word "red" in "red-baiting" is derived from the red flag signifying radical left-wing politics. In the...

 LaGuardia for his ALP connections, calling the new political organization an "active adjunct of the Communist Party." This would come to be a common theme in the political discourse about the new party. Also in the 1937 election the ALP tapped Republican special prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey as its nominee for New York District Attorney. Dewey anticipated a probable loss in his race, owing to a wide advantage for the Democratic Party in voter registrations, a number approaching a ratio of 5-to-1. However, on election day, LaGuardia, Dewey, and the ALP emerged victorious. Of LaGuardia's nearly 1.35 million votes, some 483,000 were registered on the ALP line, while Dewey was elected with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

In 1936, 1940, and 1944, the ALP endorsed Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. In 1941, American Laborite Joseph V. O'Leary
Joseph V. O'Leary
Joseph V. O'Leary was an American politician.-Life:In 1938, he ran on the American Labor ticket for New York State Attorney General, but was defeated....

 was appointed New York State Comptroller
New York State Comptroller
The New York State Comptroller is a state cabinet officer of the U.S. state of New York. The duties of the comptroller include auditing government operations and operating the state's retirement system.-History:...

 by Governor Herbert H. Lehman
Herbert H. Lehman
Herbert Henry Lehman was a Democratic Party politician from New York. He was the 45th Governor of New York from 1933 to 1942, and represented New York in the United States Senate from 1950 to 1957.-Lehman Brothers:...

 both to recognize the ALP's previous and to maintain the party's future support. In 1948, rather than support Harry Truman, it backed Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1948)
The United States Progressive Party of 1948 was a left-wing political party that ran former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for president and U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho for vice president in 1948.-Foundation:...

 candidate Henry A. Wallace
Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace was the 33rd Vice President of the United States , the Secretary of Agriculture , and the Secretary of Commerce . In the 1948 presidential election, Wallace was the nominee of the Progressive Party.-Early life:Henry A...

.

Former Republican Vito Marcantonio
Vito Marcantonio
Vito Anthony Marcantonio was an American lawyer and democratic socialist politician. Originally a member of the Republican Party and a supporter of Fiorello LaGuardia, he switched to the American Labor Party.-Early life:...

 won election to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for the ALP in 1938, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1946, and 1948, but lost in 1950. He had been the target of the New York Wilson Pakula Act in 1947 aimed at restricting candidates from one party running in another party's primary election. Leo Isacson
Leo Isacson
Leo Isacson was an American Labor member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.Isacson was born in New York City. He graduated from New York University in 1931 and New York University School of Law in 1933. He was member of the New York State Assembly from 1945 until 1946...

 was elected in early 1948 to fill a vacancy in another district.

Demise of the ALP

By the 1950s, the ALP had lost much of its support to the rival Liberal Party of New York
Liberal Party of New York
The Liberal Party of New York is a minor American political party that has been active only in the state of New York. Its platform supports a standard set of social liberal policies: it supports right to abortion, increased spending on education, and universal health care.As of 2007, the Liberal...

, in part because of accusations of communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

 influence in the ALP. In 1952, the party endorsed Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1948)
The United States Progressive Party of 1948 was a left-wing political party that ran former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for president and U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho for vice president in 1948.-Foundation:...

 candidate Vincent Hallinan
Vincent Hallinan
Vincent Hallinan was an American lawyer and a candidate for President of the United States for the Progressive Party in the 1952 election.-Early life and education:...

 for President, but he attracted little support. Corliss Lamont
Corliss Lamont
Corliss Lamont , was a socialist philosopher, and advocate of various left-wing and civil liberties causes. As a part of his political activities he was the Chairman of National Council of American-Soviet Friendship starting from early 1940s...

 made an unsuccessful run under the party's banner for the U.S. Senate, also in 1952. In the 1954 election, the ALP failed to garner 50,000 votes for any of its candidates and it lost its place on the New York ballot. In 1956 the party was terminated by its New York state committee.

Archives


Articles

  • Hardman, J.B.S., "The Late-Lamented American Labor Party." Labor and Nation, January–February 1948.
  • Waltzer, Kenneth, "The Party and the Polling Place: American Communism and an American Labor Party in the 1930s," Radical History Review, no. 23 (1980).
  • Wolfe, Allan, "The Withering Away of the American Labor Party," Rutgers University Library Journal, 31 (1968).

Theses

  • Bakunin, Jack, The Role of the Socialists in the Formation of the American Labor Party. Master’s thesis. College of the City of New York, 1965.
  • Carter, Robert Frederick, Pressure From the Left: The American Labor Party, 1936-1954. PhD dissertation. Syracuse University, 1965.
  • Licht, Walter, An Analysis of a Political Experiment: The American Labor Party (1936-1940), Senior Thesis. Harvard University, 1967.
  • Sarasohn, Stephen Beisman, The Struggle for Control of the American Labor Party 1936-1948. Master’s thesis. Columbia University, 1948.
  • Stern, Sheila Irene, The American Labor Party, 1936-1944. Master’s thesis. University of Chicago, 1964.
  • Stewart, William James, A Political History of the American Labor Party, 1936-1944. Master’s thesis. American University, 1959.
  • Waltzer, Kenneth, The American Labor Party: Third Party Politics in New Deal-Cold War New York, 1936-1954. PhD dissertation. Harvard University, 1977.

External links

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