Soviet leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]] made a stunning secret speech in Moscow in 1956 that exposed Joseph Stalin's crimes and errors while putting forth a revised version of Leninism that emphasized the idea of peaceful coexistence between the United States and the Soviet Union. Copies soon reached the CPUSE and created deep divisions. The Party was already in crisis because of McCarthyism. The CPUSA's National Executive Committee (NEC) convened to discuss Khrushchev's remarks, giving only secondary attention to Stalin's crimes and full attention to Khrushchev's comments about peaceful coexistence and the role of insurrection in the transition to socialism in countries with powerful capitalist classes. In the end, Khrushchev's report led to demoralization within the CPUSA, emboldened the Right's rejection of Marxism, and damaged the credibility of Leftism.<ref> Harris, Jerry. First Reaction: U.S. Communist Leaders Confront The Khrushchev Revelations. Science & Society 1997-98 61(4): 502-512. 0036-8237 </ref> | Soviet leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]] made a stunning secret speech in Moscow in 1956 that exposed Joseph Stalin's crimes and errors while putting forth a revised version of Leninism that emphasized the idea of peaceful coexistence between the United States and the Soviet Union. Copies soon reached the CPUSE and created deep divisions. The Party was already in crisis because of McCarthyism. The CPUSA's National Executive Committee (NEC) convened to discuss Khrushchev's remarks, giving only secondary attention to Stalin's crimes and full attention to Khrushchev's comments about peaceful coexistence and the role of insurrection in the transition to socialism in countries with powerful capitalist classes. In the end, Khrushchev's report led to demoralization within the CPUSA, emboldened the Right's rejection of Marxism, and damaged the credibility of Leftism.<ref> Harris, Jerry. First Reaction: U.S. Communist Leaders Confront The Khrushchev Revelations. Science & Society 1997-98 61(4): 502-512. 0036-8237 </ref> |