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Communist Party of the United States of America (view source)
Revision as of 22:44, June 5, 2009
, 22:44, June 5, 2009→Intellectuals
The Party had a small but influential following among intellectuals and artists, especially in New York City in the 1930s and early 1940s. There arose a bitter the conflict between anti-Soviet liberals and anti-Stalinist Marxists on one side, and pro-Soviet "progressives," a group that sympathized with the CPUSA in the People's Front during 1935-39. The anti-Soviet faction, led in part by philosopher [[John Dewey]], had a solid grasp of Stalinism allowing the liberals, the anti-Stalinist Marxists, and the ex-Marxists like [[James Burnham]] and [[John Dos Passos]] to join forces, thus providing the intellectual foundation for postwar liberal anticommunism.<ref> See Judy Kutulas, ''The Long War: The Intellectual People's Front and Anti-Stalinism'' (1995)</ref>
The Party had a small but influential following among intellectuals and artists, especially in New York City in the 1930s and early 1940s. There arose a bitter the conflict between anti-Soviet liberals and anti-Stalinist Marxists on one side, and pro-Soviet "progressives," a group that sympathized with the CPUSA in the People's Front during 1935-39. The anti-Soviet faction, led in part by philosopher [[John Dewey]], had a solid grasp of Stalinism allowing the liberals, the anti-Stalinist Marxists, and the ex-Marxists like [[James Burnham]] and [[John Dos Passos]] to join forces, thus providing the intellectual foundation for postwar liberal anticommunism.<ref> See Judy Kutulas, ''The Long War: The Intellectual People's Front and Anti-Stalinism'' (1995)</ref>
Most of the intellectual broke with the Party—usually in 1939 when Stalin made an alliance with Hitler. The writers often wrote memoirs, including Howard Fast's ''The Naked God'' (1957), Richard Wright's ''American Hunger'' (1977), Elizabeth Bentley's ''Out of Bondage'' (1952), and --by far the most influential--Whittaker Chambers's ''Witness'' (1952). Typically the memoirs show a common pattern of chronicling their authors' conversion to, disillusionment with, and repudiation of Communism, often followed by an overt effort to fight against the Communist movement. These memoirs also discuss the religious aspects of both joining and leaving the Communist Party, and their authors' subsequent roles as expert witnesses against Communism in court cases. Howard Fast's later memoir, ''Being Red'' (1990), differs from his earlier ones in that it builds upon the standard narratives common to ex-Communist memoirs to explore a larger view of the native tradition of American radicalism and its meaning for the author.
Most of the intellectual broke with the Party—usually in 1939 when Stalin made an alliance with Hitler. The writers often wrote memoirs, including Howard Fast's ''The Naked God'' (1957), Richard Wright's ''American Hunger'' (1977), Elizabeth Bentley's ''Out of Bondage'' (1952), and --by far the most influential--Whittaker Chambers's ''Witness'' (1952). Typically the memoirs show a common pattern of chronicling their authors' conversion to, disillusionment with, and repudiation of Communism, often followed by an overt effort to fight against the Communist movement. These memoirs also discuss the religious aspects of both joining and leaving the Communist Party, and their authors' subsequent roles as expert witnesses against Communism in court cases. Howard Fast's later memoir, ''Being Red'' (1990), differs from his earlier ones in that it builds upon the standard narratives common to ex-Communist memoirs to explore a larger view of the native tradition of American radicalism and its meaning for the author.
===Hollywood===
John Howard Lawson (1894-1977) was a Hollywood screenwriter who helped found the Screen Writers Guild in 1933 and after 1934 was the leader of the Hollywood branch of the Communist Party. One of the first serious New York playwrights lured to Hollywood, Lawson was already committed to radical causes and revolutionary politics before he came to Hollywood, and leftism pervades his shows.<ref> Jonathan Chambers, “How Hollywood Led John Howard Lawson to Embrace Communism and how he Turned Hollywood Red.” ‘’Theatre History Studies’’ 1997 17: 15-32. 0733-2033 </ref>
===Rural Reds===
Marxism rarely flourished in rural America, but it did have a base in Sheridan County, northeastern Montana, from 1918 to 1934. Communism "saturated local political, social, and cultural life," created a chasm between "the reds" and nonreds, or "mainstreeters," and contributed to tension in the community. The Communist Party drew its greatest following from the farming and mining areas of the county, in particular those areas settled heavily by Danes and Norwegians. Rural cooperatives were the focus of Marxist activity and supported a vibrant counterculture of "farmer-based radicalism." Communists played on anticapitalistic sentiments, doing so effectively even in churches. Mainstreeters associated communism with criminality, a connection that clearly impeded the spread of communism in the county.<ref> Gerald Zahavi, "'Who's Going To Dance With Somebody Who Calls You A Mainstreeter': Communism, Culture, and Community in Sheridan County, Montana, 1918-1934." ''Great Plains Quarterly'' 1996 16(4): 251-286. 0275-7664 </ref>
==Supporting Hitler==
==Supporting Hitler==
Although membership in the CPUSA rose to about 75,000 [http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/sova.html] by 1938, nearly a third of its members left the party after the signing of the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]] [[nonaggression pact|Nonaggression Pact]] of 1939 pact with [[Hitler]]. A committed core remained in the ranks.
Although membership in the CPUSA rose to about 75,000 [http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/sova.html] by 1938, nearly a third of its members left the party after the signing of the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]] [[nonaggression pact|Nonaggression Pact]] of 1939 pact with [[Hitler]]. A committed core remained in the ranks.