Difference between revisions of "William Z. Foster"

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'''William Z. Foster''' was a highly influential figure within the [[USA|American]] [[communist]] movement. He was born in Massachusetts in 1881 to poor European immigrants and was forced to work full time from the age of 10. As he entered his twenties he began to subscribe to socialist views, joining the Socialist Party in 1901 but was expelled in a faction war, and later the Industrial Workers of the World in 1909, leaving the latter organisation when his plan to infiltrate the American Federation of Labor was turned down. He went on to join the AFL in the 1910's and soon gained much influence within its ranks.
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{{Infobox person
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| name        = William Z. Foster
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| image      = William Z Foster.png
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| birth_date  = February 25, 1881
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| birth_place = Taunton, Massachusetts
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| death_date  = September 1st, 1961
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| death_place = Moscow, Soviet Union
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| nationality = American
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| spouse      = Esther Abramowitz Foster<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/12/books/from-street-fighter-to-stalinist.html From Street Fighter to Stalinist], [[The New York Times]]</ref>
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| religion    =
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}}
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'''William Z. Foster''' (February 25, 1881 - September 1st, 1961) was a highly influential leader of the [[Communist Party of the United States of America]] (CPUSA) as well as a prolific author.  
  
Foster joined the newly formed [[American Communist Party]] in the 1919, and ran for presidency on its ticket in 1924, 1928 and 1932. After the third attempt he suffered a serious heart attack and was relieved of his post, however was again elected the chairman of the party in 1945. He was indicted under the [[Smith Act]] in 1948 for subversion, however was not trialled due to his health. He later lost his post in the Communist Party for refusing to condemn the [[Soviet]] suppression of the [[Hungarian Revolution]]. He died in 1961.
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==Early Life==
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William Foster was born in Massachusetts in 1881 to poor European immigrants and began to work full time from the age of 10. As he entered his twenties he began to subscribe to socialist views, joining the Socialist Party in 1901 but was expelled in a faction war, and later the Industrial Workers of the World in 1909, leaving the latter organisation when his plan to infiltrate the American Federation of Labor was turned down. He went on to join the [[AFL]] in 1919 led the very large, but unsuccessful, Steel Strike.
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==Communist Years==
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[[Image:Document54.GIF|thumb|400px|right|'''Document 54''' from Soviet Archives. Alexander and Earl [Browder] to [William] Foster, 11 July 1928, RTsKhIDNI 534–6–137. Original in English. At this time Browder was working for the Comintern and serving as the first general secretary of the Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat. "Alexander" was the alias of a Profintern official named Keetagnian. <ref>''The Soviet World of American Communism'', Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, Kyrill M. Anderson, Yale University Press, 1996, p. 187, 190.</ref>]]
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Foster joined the newly formed [[American Communist Party]] (CPUSA) in the 1919, and ran for the U.S. Presidency on the CPUSA ticket in 1924, 1928 and 1932. After the third attempt he suffered a serious heart attack and was relieved of his post.  Foster was always loyal to [[Josef Stalin]], and Stalin brought him back in 1945 to replace [[Earl Browder]].
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===Zebulon===
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William Foster's middle initial "Z." was added as a way to distinguish himself as a communist author, as well as to avoid snail-mail confusion with another William Foster who lived in Spokane at the time.  It was never officially intended(nor legally changed) to signify a middle name.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NkQABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 Forging American Communism: The Life of William Z. Foster]</ref>
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==Indictment==
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Foster was indicted under the [[Smith Act]] in 1948 for [[subversion]], but did not go on trial because of his poor health. He later lost his post in the Communist Party for refusing to condemn the Soviet suppression of the [[Hungarian Revolution]].
 +
 
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==Death==
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He died on September 1st, 1961, in the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SZK5BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA245 American Economic History: A Dictionary and Chronology: A Dictionary and Chronology]</ref>
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==Works==
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* [https://archive.org/details/InsurgencyOrTheEconomicPowerOfTheMiddleClass Insurgency: or, the economic power of the middle class], 1910
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* [https://archive.org/details/Syndicalism_868 Syndicalism], 1913
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* [https://archive.org/details/GeneralReportOnSteelStrikeReliefFund General report on steel strike relief fund], 1920
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* [https://archive.org/details/greatsteelstrike00fostiala The great steel strike and its lessons], 1920
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* [https://archive.org/details/railroadersnexts00fostrich The railroaders' next step--amalgamation], 1922
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* [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001604961 The Russian Revolution], 1922
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* [http://debs.indstate.edu/f758r4_1921.pdf The Revolutionary Crisis of 1918-1921: In Germany, England, Italy and France], 1922
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* [https://archive.org/details/bankruptcyofamer00fost The bankruptcy of the American labor movement], 1922
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* [https://www.marxists.org/archive/foster/1922/principles.htm The Principles and Program of the Trade Union Educational League], 1922
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* [https://www.marxists.org/archive/foster/1924/russ24.htm Russia in 1924], 1924
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* [https://archive.org/details/RussianWorkersAndWorkshopsIn1926 Russian workers and workshops in 1926], 1926
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* [https://archive.org/details/OrganizeTheUnorganized Organize the unorganized], 1926
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* [https://www.marxists.org/archive/foster/1926/strikestrategy/ Strike Strategy], 1926
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* [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000953671 Misleaders of labor], 1926
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* [https://archive.org/details/TheWatson-parkerLawTheLatestSchemeToHamstringRailroadUnionism_218 The Watson-Parker law, the latest scheme to hamstring railroad unionism], 1927
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* [https://archive.org/details/WreckingTheLaborBanksTheCollapseOfTheLaborBanksAndInvestment Wrecking the labor banks; the collapse of the labor banks and investment companies of the Brotherhood of locomotive engineers], 1927
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* [https://archive.org/details/VictoriousSocialistConstructionInTheSovietUnion_824 Victorious socialist construction in the Soviet Union], 1930
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* [https://archive.org/details/LittleBrothersOfTheBigLaborFakersReportOfASpeechAgainstThe_977 Little brothers of the big labor fakers: report of a speech against the Conference for Progressive Labor Action, made in New Star Casino, New York City on May 10, 1931], 1931
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* [[Toward Soviet America]], 1932
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==Further reading==
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* Barrett, James R. ''William Z. Foster and the Tragedy of American Radicalism.'' (2000). 352 pp standard scholarly biography
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*[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n37_v13/ai_19836506/pg_4 We told you so - revelations of espionage by the Communist Party USA - includes related article on the Verona intercepts project], by Stephen Goode and Tiffany Danitz, Insight on the News,  Oct 6, 1997.
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==See also==
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*[[Communist Party of the United States of America]]
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*[[Earl Browder]]
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*[[Eugene Dennis]]
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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{{reflist|2}}
  
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==External Links==
 
* [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAfosterW.htm Spartacus - William Z. Foster]
 
* [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAfosterW.htm Spartacus - William Z. Foster]
 
* [http://www.wsws.org/history/1996/feb1996/foster.shtml WSWS - The Life of William Z. Foster]
 
* [http://www.wsws.org/history/1996/feb1996/foster.shtml WSWS - The Life of William Z. Foster]
  
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[[Category:KGB Agents and Sources]]
 
[[Category:Communists]]
 
[[Category:Communists]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
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[[Category:Communist Party USA members]]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, William Z.}}

Revision as of 14:34, February 6, 2016

William Z. Foster
William Z Foster.png

Born February 25, 1881
Taunton, Massachusetts
Died September 1st, 1961
Moscow, Soviet Union
Spouse Esther Abramowitz Foster[1]

William Z. Foster (February 25, 1881 - September 1st, 1961) was a highly influential leader of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) as well as a prolific author.

Early Life

William Foster was born in Massachusetts in 1881 to poor European immigrants and began to work full time from the age of 10. As he entered his twenties he began to subscribe to socialist views, joining the Socialist Party in 1901 but was expelled in a faction war, and later the Industrial Workers of the World in 1909, leaving the latter organisation when his plan to infiltrate the American Federation of Labor was turned down. He went on to join the AFL in 1919 led the very large, but unsuccessful, Steel Strike.

Communist Years

Document 54 from Soviet Archives. Alexander and Earl [Browder] to [William] Foster, 11 July 1928, RTsKhIDNI 534–6–137. Original in English. At this time Browder was working for the Comintern and serving as the first general secretary of the Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat. "Alexander" was the alias of a Profintern official named Keetagnian. [2]

Foster joined the newly formed American Communist Party (CPUSA) in the 1919, and ran for the U.S. Presidency on the CPUSA ticket in 1924, 1928 and 1932. After the third attempt he suffered a serious heart attack and was relieved of his post. Foster was always loyal to Josef Stalin, and Stalin brought him back in 1945 to replace Earl Browder.

Zebulon

William Foster's middle initial "Z." was added as a way to distinguish himself as a communist author, as well as to avoid snail-mail confusion with another William Foster who lived in Spokane at the time. It was never officially intended(nor legally changed) to signify a middle name.[3]

Indictment

Foster was indicted under the Smith Act in 1948 for subversion, but did not go on trial because of his poor health. He later lost his post in the Communist Party for refusing to condemn the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian Revolution.

Death

He died on September 1st, 1961, in the Soviet Union.[4]

Works

Further reading

See also

References

  1. From Street Fighter to Stalinist, The New York Times
  2. The Soviet World of American Communism, Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, Kyrill M. Anderson, Yale University Press, 1996, p. 187, 190.
  3. Forging American Communism: The Life of William Z. Foster
  4. American Economic History: A Dictionary and Chronology: A Dictionary and Chronology

External Links