The
National Party was a short-lived national political organization founded by pro-war defectors from 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...
in 1917. Rather than filing into the
Democratic PartyThe 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...
, these adherents of the SPA Right first formed a non-partisan national society to propagandize the socialist idea called the Social Democratic League of America. Many of these individuals were eager for the formation of an alternative political organization to both the so-called "old" parties and the anti-war Socialist Party of America and eagerly latched on to a burgeoning movement for a new party that sprouted in 1917.
The National Party seems to have begun as a byproduct of personal coalitions around single-issue advocacy, such as the drive for constitutional amendments for woman suffrage and prohibition.
The
National Party was a short-lived national political organization founded by pro-war defectors from 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...
in 1917. Rather than filing into the
Democratic PartyThe 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...
, these adherents of the SPA Right first formed a non-partisan national society to propagandize the socialist idea called the Social Democratic League of America. Many of these individuals were eager for the formation of an alternative political organization to both the so-called "old" parties and the anti-war Socialist Party of America and eagerly latched on to a burgeoning movement for a new party that sprouted in 1917.
Structure and history
The National Party seems to have begun as a byproduct of personal coalitions around single-issue advocacy, such as the drive for constitutional amendments for woman suffrage and prohibition. Coming together to lobby Congress and the
Wilson AdministrationWilson Administration may refer to the administration of:*Woodrow Wilson*Harold Wilson...
on behalf of these measures, activists came to realize there common vision in practical terms, despite whatever philosophical differences they might have harbored in the theoretical plain. Thus veterans of the
Progressive PartyIn the United States, the Progressive Party of 1912 was a political party created by a split in the Republican Party in the presidential election of 1912. It was formed by Theodore Roosevelt when he lost the Republican nomination to William Howard Taft and pulled his delegates out of the convention...
believing in the "spirit of 1912," prohibitionists, suffragists,
Single-TaxersSocial Credit is described by its originator, C. H. Douglas , as "the policy of a philosophy". Douglas called his philosophy "practical Christianity". This philosophy is interdisciplinary in nature, encompassing the fields of economics, political science, history, accounting, and physics...
, and Socialists began to talk amongst themselves about the possibility of uniting their forces in a new political organization to advance their common cause.
Informal conferences were held in New York and elsewhere in the country during the first half of 1917 between these individuals, culminating in a more formal 4 day gathering in July at the home of Progressive Party leader J.A.H. Hopkins in
Morristown, New JerseyMorristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 18,544. Its estimated population in 2004 was 18,842. It is the county seat of Morris County...
. The group did discuss and decide upon the outlines of a program for the forthcoming organization. The New Jersey conference was unable to agree amongst themselves to a name for the organization, so the matter was deferred to a future organizational conference, which ultimately decided upon the name "The National Party" for the new organization.
The National Party was funded by annual dues payments by its members, based according to the means of the party member, but of not less than $2 per annum. One dollar of this amount was to be retained by the national organization to fund its operation, while the other dollar was to rebated to the state organization for its own support. Party members were to receive membership cards and a periodic bulletin was planned. Those not wishing to cast their lot with the organization as full members could gain "sympathizer" status through the purchase of an annual button for fifty cents.
The National Party's national office was located in the Lafayette Building, 138 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois. It also had an office for its "Eastern Division" located at 15 E 40th Street, New York City.
Founding Conference, Chicago, IL October 3-4, 1917
The founding conference of the National Party adopted a tentative platform declaring for universal and equal suffrage; for strong advocacy of the rights of Initiative, Referendum, and Recall; for the absentee ballot as a means of enfranchising and deradicalizing transient labor; for suppression of the liquor traffic; for prison reform; for a system of proportional representation allowing minor parties representation according to voting strength; and for government ownership of transportation, communications, and other natural monopolies.
First Convention, Chicago, IL, March 6-7-8, 1918
The Second Convention of the National Party adopted a formal organizational constitution and revised platform for the organization. The group was to be headed by a National Chairman, four Vice Chairmen, and a National Executive Committee of 29. Former Socialist David Coates was elected National Chairman, while J.A.H. Hopkins was elected First Vice Chairman and Chairman of the National Executive Committee.
Prominent members and associated organizations
- David C. Coates
David Courtney Coates was a Pueblo, Colorado businessman,[The Corpse On Boomerang Road, Telluride's War On Labor 1899-1908, MaryJoy Martin, 2004, page 78.] a radical, a lieutenant governor of Colorado, secretary of Colorado's State Federation of Labor, and a friend to Big Bill...
(ex-Socialist Party)
- J.A.H. Hopkins (Committee of 48, Progressive Party)
- Marie Caroline Brehm (Suffragist)
- William F. Cochran (Baltimore real estate developer)
- Demarest Lloyd (journalist)
- Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair, Jr. , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning prolific American author who wrote over 90 books in many genres. He achieved considerable popularity in the first half of the 20th century, gaining particular fame for his 1906 muckraking novel The Jungle. The book...
(ex-Socialist Party)
- John Spargo
John Spargo was a British-born American socialist writer and muckraker who later became a renowned expert in the history and crafts of Vermont.-Early years:...
(ex-Socialist Party)
- J.G. Phelps Stokes (ex-Socialist Party)