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Line 1: − Turnover in membership was very high, with most people staying less than a year before they quit in disgust with the intellectual and social regimentation of the party and its structure as a top-down dictatorship that took orders from Moscow.+ + + + + − The Soviet Union conducted an extensive and continuous espionage attack against the security institutions—political, economic, and scientific—of the United States from the time of Washington's diplomatic recognition of the USSR by the Roosevelt Administration. <ref>Felix Wittmer, [http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/yaltabet.html ''The Yalta Betrayal''], Claxton Printers, 1953, p. 15. </ref> That attack continued not only during the time [[Molotov-Ribbentrop pact|the USSR was allied with Nazi Germany from 1939]] until it was [[Operation Barbarossa|attacked by Germany in 1941]], but during the war years 1941–1945 when the Soviet Union was one of America's main allies. The main thrust was to give impetus to the Soviet drive for [[World Revolution]]; to increase the political power of CPUSA, and to strengthen the Soviet economy by economic and scientific espionage. A major instrument of Moscow's policy was the CPUSA. − The CPUSA was under heavy attack by the U.S. government after 1947 and the start of the [[Cold War]]. After gaining control of many [[CIO]] locals and unions it was expelled from the CIO in 1948 and operated some small unions, such as the fur workers. It supported and gained control of the presidential campaign of [[Henry A. Wallace]] in 1948. After 1948 it was a hunted target and played only a small role. Line 14:
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Communist Party of the United States of America (view source)
Revision as of 13:09, June 6, 2009
, 13:09, June 6, 2009no edit summary
The '''Communist Party of the United States of America''' ('''CPUSA''') was a Moscow-controlled [[Marxist-Leninist]] party in the [[United States]]. It nominated a candidate for president from 1924 through 1984, sometimes with funding from the communist [[Soviet Union]]. With the collapse of the Soviet Union it became a hollow shell and has urged voters to support the Democratic Party.<ref>http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/government/elections/president/timeline.htm</ref>
The '''Communist Party of the United States of America''' ('''CPUSA''') was a Moscow-controlled [[Marxist-Leninist]] party in the [[United States]]. It nominated a candidate for president from 1924 through 1984, sometimes with funding from the communist [[Soviet Union]]. With the collapse of the Soviet Union it became a hollow shell and has urged voters to support the Democratic Party.<ref>http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/government/elections/president/timeline.htm</ref>
The Soviet Union used the CPUSA to recruit spies after the U.S. recognized the USSR in 1933.
The CPUSA was under heavy attack by the U.S. government after 1947 and the start of the [[Cold War]]. After gaining control of many [[CIO]] locals and unions it was expelled from the CIO in 1948 and operated some small unions, such as the fur workers. It supported and gained control of the presidential campaign of [[Henry A. Wallace]] in 1948. After 1948 it was a hunted target and played only a small role.
Membership in the CPUSA was a high maintenance operation--the Party demanded full control of people's ideas, friendships, jobs and activities. There were repeated in-depth investigations, humiliating confessions, and purges. Many sympathizers (or "fellow travelers") supported Communist goals but refused to become members. Of those who did join turnover in membership was very high, with most people staying less than a year before they quit in disgust with the intellectual and social regimentation of the party and its structure as a top-down dictatorship that took orders from Moscow.
[[File:Brand.gif|thumb|240px]]
[[File:Brand.gif|thumb|240px]]
During the early 1920s, the party apparatus was, to a great extent, underground. It reemerged in 1923 with a small legal above ground element, the [[Workers Party of America]]. As the [[Red Scare]] of 1919 and deportations of the early 1920s ebbed, the party became bolder and more open. When the FBI in August 1922 raided the third convention of the Communist Party USA meeting secretly near Bridgman, Michigan, they obtained biographical information about each of the delegates. They came largely from Eastern and Central Europe; all but two could speak English and most were Americanized. Most had previously belonged to the [[Socialist Party]], or (less often) to the [[IWW]]. Most had been radicals prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Few held official trade union positions, very few worked in heavy industry, and a substantial number had been arrested at least once.<REF> Harvey Klehr, "The Bridgman Delegates," ''Survey''1976 22(2): 87-95. 0039-6192 </REF>
During the early 1920s, the party apparatus was, to a great extent, underground. It reemerged in 1923 with a small legal above ground element, the [[Workers Party of America]]. As the [[Red Scare]] of 1919 and deportations of the early 1920s ebbed, the party became bolder and more open. When the FBI in August 1922 raided the third convention of the Communist Party USA meeting secretly near Bridgman, Michigan, they obtained biographical information about each of the delegates. They came largely from Eastern and Central Europe; all but two could speak English and most were Americanized. Most had previously belonged to the [[Socialist Party]], or (less often) to the [[IWW]]. Most had been radicals prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Few held official trade union positions, very few worked in heavy industry, and a substantial number had been arrested at least once.<REF> Harvey Klehr, "The Bridgman Delegates," ''Survey''1976 22(2): 87-95. 0039-6192 </REF>
==Underground==
An element of the party, however, remained permanently underground. It was through this underground party, often commanded by a Soviet official operating as an illegal in the United States, that Soviet intelligence was able to co-opt CPUSA members. <ref>"The COMINTERN (Communist International) was a Soviet-controlled organization that conducted liaison with the national Communist parties of various countries, including the United States. Moscow issued guidance, support, and orders to the parties through the COMINTERN.</ref> The Comintern supplied the American Communist movement with the equivalent of several million dollars in valuables, an enormous sum in the 1920s. <ref>[http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/moynihan/appa4.html Moynihan Commission on Government Secrecy Report, Appendix A, 4. ''The Encounter with Communism''] (1997).</ref>
An element of the party, however, remained permanently underground. It was through this underground party, often commanded by a Soviet official operating in the United States, that Soviet intelligence was able to co-opt CPUSA members. <ref>"The COMINTERN (Communist International) was a Soviet-controlled organization that conducted liaison with the national Communist parties of various countries, including the United States. Moscow issued guidance, support, and orders to the parties through the COMINTERN.</ref> The Comintern supplied the American Communist movement with the equivalent of several million dollars in valuables, an enormous sum in the 1920s. <ref>[http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/moynihan/appa4.html Moynihan Commission on Government Secrecy Report, Appendix A, 4. ''The Encounter with Communism''] (1997).</ref>