Changes

==Leadership==

==Leadership==

From 1919 to the early 1930s Party head [[William Z. Foster]] was one of the most influential leftist labor and political leaders in the United States. After coordinating strikes for the [[Industrial Workers of the World]], he ran for president as the candidate of the Communist Party in 1924, 1928, and 1932. Foster's recurrent physical and mental health problems curtailed his leadership, especially during the 1930s. He was loyal to Stalin who returned Foster to power in 1945. He retired in 1957 and Moscow replaced him with [[Gus Hall]].

From 1919 to the early 1930s Party head [[William Z. Foster]] was one of the most influential leftist labor and political leaders in the United States. After coordinating strikes for the [[Industrial Workers of the World]], he ran for president as the candidate of the Communist Party in 1924, 1928, and 1932. Foster's recurrent physical and mental health problems curtailed his leadership, especially during the 1930s. He was loyal to Stalin who returned Foster to power in 1945. He retired in 1957 and Moscow replaced him with [[Gus Hall]].

[[Louis Budenz]] started as a Communist and ended a leading an anti-Communist, beginning with his involvement in the Toledo, Ohio, Electric Auto-Lite strike of 1934. Although the intensity of Budenz's later opposition to communism during the McCarthy era made his former involvement in the CPUSA difficult to understand, his entry into the Party was the logical result of his involvement in the Auto-Lite strike. Intrigued by the idea of an "Americanized" socialism, Budenz's desire to assimilate leftism and nationalism spurred him to join the American Workers' Party (AWP) and, later, the Communist Party. Fervently patriotic, Budenz's interest in the CPUSA was based on the group's adoption of an approach that focused on the American experience. When the CPUSA realigned itself with Russia in 1945, Budenz left the organization. Following his departure, Budenz acted as an informant in the Red Scare, assisting the government in the condemnation of many of his former Communist sympathizers.<Ref> Roger Chapman, "Louis Francis Budenz's Journey from the Electric Auto-Lite Strike to the Communist Party and Beyond," ''Northwest Ohio Quarterly'' 2001 73(3-4): 118-141. 0029-3407 </ref>

[[Louis Budenz]] started as a Communist and ended a leading an anti-Communist, beginning with his involvement in the Toledo, Ohio, Electric Auto-Lite strike of 1934. Although the intensity of Budenz's later opposition to communism during the McCarthy era made his former involvement in the CPUSA difficult to understand, his entry into the Party was the logical result of his involvement in the Auto-Lite strike. Intrigued by the idea of an "Americanized" socialism, Budenz's desire to assimilate leftism and nationalism spurred him to join the American Workers' Party (AWP) and, later, the Communist Party. Fervently patriotic, Budenz's interest in the CPUSA was based on the group's adoption of an approach that focused on the American experience. When the CPUSA realigned itself with Russia in 1945, Budenz left the organization. Following his departure, Budenz acted as an informant in the Red Scare, assisting the government in the condemnation of many of his former Communist sympathizers.<Ref> Roger Chapman, "Louis Francis Budenz's Journey from the Electric Auto-Lite Strike to the Communist Party and Beyond," ''Northwest Ohio Quarterly'' 2001 73(3-4): 118-141. 0029-3407 </ref>

==Unions==

==Unions==

Coal miners in the United States and indeed in most countries were the nost radical of all workers and their support was critical for Communism.  The brief history of the National Miners Union (NMU) during 1928-31 sheds light on the role of the CPUSA in the Pennsylvania anthracite [[coal mining]] industry and on the polarized views of the CPUSA as either a functionary of Soviet and Communist International (Comintern) policy, or as a progressive response to regional and local interests. The NMU provided a militant alternative to the American Federation of Labor ([[AFL]]) and United Mine Workers of America ([[UMW]]), but failed to meet the CPUSA goal of defeating the AFL and UMW and taking control of the union movement. Although theoretically supporting revolutionary goals, NMU activists rejected them as impossible and impractical and focused on immediate issues such as working conditions, wages, benefits, and social reform. The NMU's failure to take control of strikes, the rise of labor violence, internal dissension, police harassment, press hostility, and nationwide anti-Communist attitudes contributed to the demise of the red union.<ref> Walter T. Howard, "The National Miners Union: Communists and Miners in the Pennsylvania Anthracite, 1928-1931." ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 2001 125(1-2): 91-124. 0031-4587 </ref>  

Coal miners in the United States and indeed in most countries were the nost radical of all workers and their support was critical for Communism.  The brief history of the National Miners Union (NMU) during 1928-31 sheds light on the role of the CPUSA in the Pennsylvania anthracite [[coal mining]] industry and on the polarized views of the CPUSA as either a functionary of Soviet and Communist International (Comintern) policy, or as a progressive response to regional and local interests. The NMU provided a militant alternative to the American Federation of Labor ([[AFL]]) and United Mine Workers of America ([[UMW]]), but failed to meet the CPUSA goal of defeating the AFL and UMW and taking control of the union movement. Although theoretically supporting revolutionary goals, NMU activists rejected them as impossible and impractical and focused on immediate issues such as working conditions, wages, benefits, and social reform. The NMU's failure to take control of strikes, the rise of labor violence, internal dissension, police harassment, press hostility, and nationwide anti-Communist attitudes contributed to the demise of the red union.<ref> Walter T. Howard, "The National Miners Union: Communists and Miners in the Pennsylvania Anthracite, 1928-1931." ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 2001 125(1-2): 91-124. 0031-4587 </ref>