Meyer London (1871—1926) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician from
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
who was one of only two members of the
Socialist Party of AmericaThe Socialist Party of America was a 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 1899.In the...
elected to the
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
.
Meyer London was born in Kalvarija, Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1871. In 1891, he emigrated to the United States, taking up residence in
New York'sNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
largely
JewishAmerican Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens or resident aliens of the Jewish faith and/or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
Lower East SideThe Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, E. Houston, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street...
. London became a labor lawyer representing labor unions. He ran for Congress three times as a
SocialistThe Socialist Party of America was a 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 1899.In the...
and was defeated by
Tammany HallTammany Hall , was the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in controlling New York City politics and helping immigrants rise up in American politics from the 1790s to the 1960s...
-supported
DemocratsThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
, but in 1914, London was elected to Congress from his Lower East Side district.
He was the second Socialist elected to Congress, following
WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
's Victor Berger.
Meyer London (1871—1926) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician from
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
who was one of only two members of the
Socialist Party of AmericaThe Socialist Party of America was a 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 1899.In the...
elected to the
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
.
Biography
Meyer London was born in Kalvarija, Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1871. In 1891, he emigrated to the United States, taking up residence in
New York'sNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
largely
JewishAmerican Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens or resident aliens of the Jewish faith and/or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
Lower East SideThe Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, E. Houston, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street...
. London became a labor lawyer representing labor unions. He ran for Congress three times as a
SocialistThe Socialist Party of America was a 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 1899.In the...
and was defeated by
Tammany HallTammany Hall , was the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in controlling New York City politics and helping immigrants rise up in American politics from the 1790s to the 1960s...
-supported
DemocratsThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
, but in 1914, London was elected to Congress from his Lower East Side district.
He was the second Socialist elected to Congress, following
WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
's Victor Berger. Meyer London was one of 50 representatives and six senators to vote against entry into
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, but once America was at war, he felt obliged to support it. He strongly opposed the Espionage Act of 1917 and the
Sedition Act of 1918The Sedition Act of 1918 was an amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917 passed at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson, who was concerned that dissent, in time of war, was a significant threat to morale. The passing of this act forbade Americans to use "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive...
, which made criticism of the president or the war a crime. These actions angered his constituency, London said, "I wonder whether I am to be punished for having had the courage to vote against the war or for standing by my country’s decision when it chose war."
Though his principled positions on the war cost him support, what finally destroyed Meyer London was the issue of Palestine. Following the British Balfour Declaration of 1917, on the lower East side every possible Jewish view was represented, from extreme left to extreme right, from nationalist to assimilationist. In 1918, the Zionists asked Meyer London to introduce a congressional resolution endorsing the Balfour declaration. London's views were not among the Zionists. He summarized his views of Zionism succinctly when he said, “Let us stop pretending about the Jewish past and let us stop making fools of ourselves about the Jewish future.” When London refused to introduce the resolution the Zionists decided to defeat him. They could not have done it alone, because there were few of them, but there were other Jews who wanted London out of Congress. The Orthodox opposed London because he was not religious; rich and powerful Jews opposed London because he was a socialist. Uptown Jews like
Jacob SchiffJacob Henry Schiff, born Jacob Hirsch Schiff was a German-born New York City banker and philanthropist, who helped finance, among many other things, the Japanese military efforts against Tsarist Russia in the Russo-Japanese War.From his base on Wall Street, he was the foremost Jewish leader in...
, Louis Marshall,
Nathan StrausNathan Straus was an American merchant and philanthropist who was to own two of New York City's biggest department stores -- R.H...
, and Rabbi Stephen S. Wise urged the Jews to redeem themselves by rejecting London. He narrowly lost reelection in 1918.
Two years later, in 1920, the Lower East Side sent London back to Congress. In
Israel and the American National Interest, Cheryl A. Rubenberg states, “on September 21, 1922, the American Congress passed a joint resolution stating its support for a homeland in Palestine for the Jewish people". He was defeated for reelection two months later in November.
London died after being hit by a taxi in June 1926. The driver rushed him to Bellevue Hospital, where London’s daughter was an intern. When she saw her father London’s only concern was that the driver not be punished. "It’s not his fault", said London "and he is a poor man." That night Meyer London, died at the age of 56. In spite of his votes against the earlier war, he became the namesake of a
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Liberty shipLiberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
, the SS
Meyer London, launched in 1943.
One of the buildings of Hillman Housing Corporation, a
housing cooperativeA housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. The...
founded by the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of AmericaThe 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...
, in the
Lower East SideThe Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, E. Houston, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street...
of Manhattan is named after him. There is also a K-5 elementary school located in the Lower East Side named after him, a.k.a. P.S. 2.
http://www.insideschools.org
Further Reading
- Goldberg, Gordon J., Meyer London: A Political Biography. PhD dissertation, Lehigh University, 1971.
- Rogoff, Harry, An East Side Epic: The Life and Work of Meyer London. New York: Vanguard Press, 1930.
External links