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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.  Prior to becoming a communist, Foster turned to syndicalism and founded his own Syndicalist League of North America (SLNA).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=EryjLMnWdvAC&pg=PA16 Red Chicago: American Communism at Its Grassroots, 1928-35]</ref>  Later, he joined the [[AFL]] in 1919 and led the very large, but unsuccessful Steel Strike.  

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.  Prior to becoming a communist, Foster turned to syndicalism and founded his own Syndicalist League of North America (SLNA).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=EryjLMnWdvAC&pg=PA16 Red Chicago: American Communism at Its Grassroots, 1928-35]</ref>  Later, he joined the [[AFL]] in 1919 and led the very large, but unsuccessful Steel Strike.  

==Communist Years==

==Communist years==

[[Image:Document54.GIF|thumb|400px|right|'''Document 54''' from Soviet Archives. Alexander and [[Earl Browder|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>]]

[[File:Document54.GIF|thumb|400px|right|'''Document 54''' from Soviet Archives. Alexander and [[Earl Browder|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>]]

After playing a lead organizing role in the Steel Strike of 1919<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1919/10/26/archives/sees-steel-strike-as-unions-crisis-william-z-foster-tells-workers.html SEES STEEL STRIKE AS UNIONS' CRISIS; William Z. Foster Tells Workers That Autocracy Will Reign if Strike Fails. SAYS 300,000 MEN ARE OUT Overflow Crowds at Cooper Union Addressed by Abraham Lefkowitz.], [[The New York Times]]</ref> Foster joined the newly formed [[American Communist Party]] (CPUSA).  An aspiring politician, he ran for the U.S. Presidency on the CPUSA ticket in 1924 and 1928 with Benjamin Gitlow for Vice President, and 1932 with James W. Ford.

Foster played a lead organizing role in the Steel Strike of 1919,<ref>October 26, 1919. [https://www.nytimes.com/1919/10/26/archives/sees-steel-strike-as-unions-crisis-william-z-foster-tells-workers.html SEES STEEL STRIKE AS UNIONS' CRISIS; William Z. Foster Tells Workers That Autocracy Will Reign if Strike Fails. SAYS 300,000 MEN ARE OUT Overflow Crowds at Cooper Union Addressed by Abraham Lefkowitz.] ''The New York Times''. (archived version available [https://archive.is/k6u28 here])</ref> following which he blamed blacks, who dismantled it, as "a race of strikebreakers."<ref>Moreno, Paul D. (2006). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Black_Americans_and_Organized_Labor/5fp-qTduAr0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=william+foster+blacks+race+of+strikebreakers&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover Black Americans and Organized Labor: A New History], p. 1. ''Google Books''. Retrieved May 22, 2023.</ref> (see: [[Labor unions and racism]]) Foster described black attitudes towards labor unionism as "indifference, often verging into open hostility."<ref>Reyes, G. Mitchell (2010). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Public_Memory_Race_and_Ethnicity/3FgaBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=william+foster+blacks+race+of+strikebreakers&pg=PA55&printsec=frontcover Public Memory, Race, and Ethnicity], p. 55. ''Google Books''. Retrieved May 22, 2023.</ref>

 

After the steel strike, Foster joined the newly formed [[American Communist Party]] (CPUSA).  An aspiring politician, he ran for the U.S. Presidency on the CPUSA ticket in 1924 and 1928 with Benjamin Gitlow for Vice President, and 1932 with James W. Ford.

After the third attempt to run for president 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]].

After the third attempt to run for president 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]].