Maximilian Cohen
Encyclopedia
Maximilian "Max" Cohen was an American
socialist politician
of the early 20th Century. Cohen held a series of important posts during the pivotal year of 1919, including Secretary of the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party
for Local Greater New York, Secretary of the Left Wing National Council, and business manager for the New York Communist
. Cohen was also a founding member of the Communist Party of America in that same year.
parents. He grew up in New York City
and became actively involved in radical
politics as a very young man, joining the Socialist Labor Party in 1904 before moving to the Socialist Party of America
in 1913. He trained and worked professionally as a dentist
.
, Executive Secretary of Local Greater New York who did his best to steer the meeting away from the passionate discussion of strategy and tactics which the Left Wing members desired. When delegates from Queens attempted to win the floor at 11:30 pm, only to be ruled out of order, a number of radicals bolted the hall and gathered in a meeting room of their own. A City Committee of 14 was elected, with Max Cohen as Executive Secretary. The group was to compose a manifesto and wage a campaign to win over the rank and file of the party to the ideas of revolutionary socialism
. It was this group which wrote the famous Left Wing Manifesto
, a document extensively revised by Louis C. Fraina
, editor of the weekly newspaper of the Left Wing Section, Local Boston, The Revolutionary Age
.
Later in 1919, Left Wing Section, Local New York decided to issue its own weekly newspaper, The New York Communist. Max Cohen was made business manager of the new paper, which was edited by the celebrated journalist
and war correspondent
John Reed
. Cohen's stint in this capacity was brief, as he stepped down effective with the June 14, 1919, issue, with Ben Gitlow taking over the job.
Later in June 1919, the national Left Wing Section held an organizational Left Wing National Conference in New York City. There Cohen was elected Secretary of the governing National Council of this group. Cohen was one of those members of the National Council who sought to avoid a split of the emerging Communist movement by endorsing the convention call issued by the Socialist Party of Michigan
and the language federations of the Socialist Party seeking the immediate establishment of a Communist Party of America in Chicago on September 1, 1919. On this matter he came into bitter disagreement with Reed, Gitlow, and other leading members of the Left Wing Section, who sought to fight for control of the Socialist Party at its 1919 Emergency National Convention
, slated for August 30 in that same city. This disagreement over tactics led to the formation of two separate organizations — the Communist Party of America (CPA) and the Communist Labor Party of America (CLP), groups which fought each other tooth and nail for the next two years before finally merging their forces permanently in the middle of 1922.
Cohen was elected as a delegate to the founding convention of the CPA in September 1919 and served as a membe of the 9 member committee of the convention which wrote the CPA's program. He was also chosen as editor of the organization's official organ, a weekly newspaper published in New York and called The Communist.
Cohen was elected a member of the governing Central Executive Committee of the CPA in 1920 and served on the "Executive Council" of that body which conducted day-to-day operations. He was the organizer for District II for that organization (New York City and environs) from January 1920 onwards as well as continuing to serve as the Editor in Chief for the organization.
At the end of 1920, Cohen — an extremely loyal supporter of the Communist International — ran afoul with a majority group in the CPA which sought to delay merger with the successor to the CLP to maximize their factional advantage in a united organization. For his outspoken criticism of the party's disingenuous "unity" strategy, Cohen was stripped of his editorship and expelled from the party on January 16, 1921. The expelled loyalist Cohen was rewarded by the Comintern when its 3 man American Agency, given the task by Moscow of forging a unified Communist Party in the USA and developing sister organizations in Mexico and South America, sent Cohen to Argentina to organize the framework of a Communist trade union movement in that country. It is unknown whether Cohen achieved anything in this role.
Testimonial Committee, an offshoot of the Communist Party which held a benefit dinner on her behalf on April 4, 1933, in an effort to raise funds to pay for her treatment for cancer.
Cohen was also a formal public endorser of the National Committee to Aid the Victims of German Fascism, a mass organization formed circa 1934 "for protest and relief to aid the victims and refugees of the Hitler regime." The Special Committee on Un-American Activities
of the House of Representatives, chaired by Martin Dies
of Texas
, declared in a published report that "a glance at the personnel of this committee is sufficient to indicate that it is an auxiliary of the Communist Party."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
socialist politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
of the early 20th Century. Cohen held a series of important posts during the pivotal year of 1919, including Secretary of the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party
Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party
The Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party was an organized faction within the Socialist Party of America in 1919 which served as the core of the dual communist parties which emerged in the fall of that year — the Communist Party of America and the Communist Labor Party of America.-Precusors:A...
for Local Greater New York, Secretary of the Left Wing National Council, and business manager for the New York Communist
New York Communist
The New York Communist was a short-lived weekly newspaper issued by the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party of Local Greater New York, encompassing the New York City metro area. The paper was edited by the renowned radical journalist and war correspondent John Reed...
. Cohen was also a founding member of the Communist Party of America in that same year.
Early years
Maximilian Cohen was born in the United States of ethnic JewishJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
parents. He grew up 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...
and became actively involved in radical
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
politics as a very young man, joining the Socialist Labor Party in 1904 before moving to the Socialist Party of America
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...
in 1913. He trained and worked professionally as a dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
.
The early US Communist movement
In 1919, with the emergence of an organized revolutionary socialist Left Wing faction in the Socialist Party, Cohen cast his lot with the insurgents. In January of 1919 a joint meeting of representatives of all the SP branches of Local Greater New York was called. The meeting was chaired by Julius GerberJulius Gerber
Julius Gerber was a leading Socialist Party of America party official and politician during the first two decades of the 20th century. Gerber headed the important Socialist Party unit for New York City and its environs from 1911 through 1922...
, Executive Secretary of Local Greater New York who did his best to steer the meeting away from the passionate discussion of strategy and tactics which the Left Wing members desired. When delegates from Queens attempted to win the floor at 11:30 pm, only to be ruled out of order, a number of radicals bolted the hall and gathered in a meeting room of their own. A City Committee of 14 was elected, with Max Cohen as Executive Secretary. The group was to compose a manifesto and wage a campaign to win over the rank and file of the party to the ideas of revolutionary socialism
Revolutionary socialism
The term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...
. It was this group which wrote the famous Left Wing Manifesto
Left Wing Manifesto
The Left Wing Manifesto is the name rather confusingly bestowed upon two distinct programmatic documents of the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party during the factional war in the Socialist Party of America of 1919...
, a document extensively revised by Louis C. Fraina
Louis C. Fraina
Louis C. Fraina was a founding member of the American Communist Party in 1919. After running afoul of the Communist International in 1921 over the alleged misappropriation of funds, Fraina left the organized radical movement, emerging in 1930 as a left wing public intellectual by the name of Lewis...
, editor of the weekly newspaper of the Left Wing Section, Local Boston, The Revolutionary Age
Revolutionary Age
The Revolutionary Age was an American radical newspaper edited by Louis C. Fraina and published from November 1918 until August 1919. Originally the publication of Local Boston, Socialist Party, the paper evolved into the de facto national organ of the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party which...
.
Later in 1919, Left Wing Section, Local New York decided to issue its own weekly newspaper, The New York Communist. Max Cohen was made business manager of the new paper, which was edited by the celebrated journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
John Reed
John Reed
-Arts, letters, and entertainment:* John Reed , New York novelist and author* John Reed , actor and singer with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company* John Reed , Australian critic and art patron...
. Cohen's stint in this capacity was brief, as he stepped down effective with the June 14, 1919, issue, with Ben Gitlow taking over the job.
Later in June 1919, the national Left Wing Section held an organizational Left Wing National Conference in New York City. There Cohen was elected Secretary of the governing National Council of this group. Cohen was one of those members of the National Council who sought to avoid a split of the emerging Communist movement by endorsing the convention call issued by the Socialist Party of Michigan
Socialist Party of Michigan
The Socialist Party of Michigan is the state chapter of the Socialist Party USA in the U.S. state of Michigan.-Formation:The Socialist Party of Michigan was the state affiliate of the Socialist Party of America , established in the summer of 1901...
and the language federations of the Socialist Party seeking the immediate establishment of a Communist Party of America in Chicago on September 1, 1919. On this matter he came into bitter disagreement with Reed, Gitlow, and other leading members of the Left Wing Section, who sought to fight for control of the Socialist Party at its 1919 Emergency National Convention
1919 Emergency National Convention
The 1919 Emergency National Convention of the Socialist Party of America was held in Chicago from August 30 to September 5, 1919. It was a seminal gathering in the history of American radicalism, marked by the bolting of the party's organized left wing to establish the Communist Labor Party of...
, slated for August 30 in that same city. This disagreement over tactics led to the formation of two separate organizations — the Communist Party of America (CPA) and the Communist Labor Party of America (CLP), groups which fought each other tooth and nail for the next two years before finally merging their forces permanently in the middle of 1922.
Cohen was elected as a delegate to the founding convention of the CPA in September 1919 and served as a membe of the 9 member committee of the convention which wrote the CPA's program. He was also chosen as editor of the organization's official organ, a weekly newspaper published in New York and called The Communist.
Cohen was elected a member of the governing Central Executive Committee of the CPA in 1920 and served on the "Executive Council" of that body which conducted day-to-day operations. He was the organizer for District II for that organization (New York City and environs) from January 1920 onwards as well as continuing to serve as the Editor in Chief for the organization.
At the end of 1920, Cohen — an extremely loyal supporter of the Communist International — ran afoul with a majority group in the CPA which sought to delay merger with the successor to the CLP to maximize their factional advantage in a united organization. For his outspoken criticism of the party's disingenuous "unity" strategy, Cohen was stripped of his editorship and expelled from the party on January 16, 1921. The expelled loyalist Cohen was rewarded by the Comintern when its 3 man American Agency, given the task by Moscow of forging a unified Communist Party in the USA and developing sister organizations in Mexico and South America, sent Cohen to Argentina to organize the framework of a Communist trade union movement in that country. It is unknown whether Cohen achieved anything in this role.
Later years
Cohen seems to have fallen out of the Communist Party's political leadership from that date. He periodically advertised his dentistry services in the party press in ensuing years and resurfaced in 1933 as the head of the Rose Pastor StokesRose Pastor Stokes
Rose Harriet Pastor Stokes was a Jewish-American socialist activist, writer, birth control advocate, and feminist. She was active in labor politics and women's issues, and was a founding member of the Communist Party of America in 1919. She was a figure of some public notoriety for having married...
Testimonial Committee, an offshoot of the Communist Party which held a benefit dinner on her behalf on April 4, 1933, in an effort to raise funds to pay for her treatment for cancer.
Cohen was also a formal public endorser of the National Committee to Aid the Victims of German Fascism, a mass organization formed circa 1934 "for protest and relief to aid the victims and refugees of the Hitler regime." The Special Committee on Un-American Activities
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
of the House of Representatives, chaired by Martin Dies
Martin Dies, Jr.
Martin Dies, Jr. was a Texas politician and a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives. His father, Martin Dies, was also a member of the United States House of Representatives.-Biography:...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, declared in a published report that "a glance at the personnel of this committee is sufficient to indicate that it is an auxiliary of the Communist Party."