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Dreiser was an [[atheist]]<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,881224,00.html Religion: Atheist's Oath]," ''Time'', August 20, 1928</ref> as well as a [[Communist]], who wrote that "through its attainment of Socialism," the Soviet Union "has given the greatest example in history of the heights of achievement that can be reached by a free people with faith in itself and in all the progressive forces of humanity."<ref>Theodore Dreiser, "Request to Become a Communist," ''[[The Daily Worker]]'', July 30, 1945, reprinted in Albert Fried, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=mLJbT3NMbN4C Communism in America: A History in Documents]'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997) ISBN 0231102356, pp. 348-350</ref> In 1928, he visited the [[Soviet Union]], returning to give the ''New York Times'' a glowing account, even defending [[Stalin]]'s purge of [[Trotsky]].<ref>"[http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00A1FFD38551A738DDDAB0A94DA405B888EF1D3&scp=1&sq=dreiser%20home,%20sees%20soviet%20aims%20gaining&st=cse DREISER HOME, SEES SOVIET AIMS GAINING]; Author Thinks Principles of Government Will Spread Even to This Country. BUT IN A DIFFERENT FORM He Declares There Is No Bread-Line or Unemployment in Russia-- Deplores Coal Strike Here," ''The New York Times'', February 22, 1928, p. 9. Cf. Frederic E. Rusch and Donald Pizer (Eds.), ''Theodore Dreiser: Interviews'' (University of Illinois Press, 2004) ISBN 0252029437, pp. 168-170</ref>
Dreiser was an [[atheist]]<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,881224,00.html Religion: Atheist's Oath]," ''Time'', August 20, 1928</ref> as well as a [[Communist]], who wrote that "through its attainment of Socialism," the Soviet Union "has given the greatest example in history of the heights of achievement that can be reached by a free people with faith in itself and in all the progressive forces of humanity."<ref>Theodore Dreiser, "Request to Become a Communist," ''[[The Daily Worker]]'', July 30, 1945, reprinted in Albert Fried, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=mLJbT3NMbN4C Communism in America: A History in Documents]'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997) ISBN 0231102356, pp. 348-350</ref> In 1928, he visited the [[Soviet Union]], returning to give the ''New York Times'' a glowing account, even defending [[Stalin]]'s purge of [[Trotsky]].<ref>"[http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00A1FFD38551A738DDDAB0A94DA405B888EF1D3&scp=1&sq=dreiser%20home,%20sees%20soviet%20aims%20gaining&st=cse DREISER HOME, SEES SOVIET AIMS GAINING]; Author Thinks Principles of Government Will Spread Even to This Country. BUT IN A DIFFERENT FORM He Declares There Is No Bread-Line or Unemployment in Russia-- Deplores Coal Strike Here," ''The New York Times'', February 22, 1928, p. 9. Cf. Frederic E. Rusch and Donald Pizer (Eds.), ''Theodore Dreiser: Interviews'' (University of Illinois Press, 2004) ISBN 0252029437, pp. 168-170</ref>
==Notes==
When prominent [[American]] [[liberals]] like [[John Dewey]] objected to the show trials that followed, Dreiser was among those who signed an open letter in support of Stalin's [[Great Purge|Great Terror]], reaffirming "their faith in the Soviet Union, their confidence in the Soviet government, and their friendship for the Soviet people."<ref>Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, and Kyrill M. Anderson, ''The Secret World of American Communism'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), pp. 304-305</ref>
When the Soviet Union joined [[Nazi]] Germany in the [[Hitler-Stalin pact]] for the joint invasion of Poland, partitioning Eastern Europe between them, Dreiser was among the "prominent Americans" named by the Communists "who would write effective brochures explaining and defending the [[Hitler-Stalin pact|peace policy]] of the Soviet Union and answering the arguments of the enemy." In early 1941, Dreiser obliged, writing a book arguing that the [[U.S.]] should not aid England in its war against [[Hitler]].<ref>Theodore Dreiser, ''America Is Worth Saving'' (New York: Modern Age Books, 1941)
==Sources==
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Hugo S. Cunningham, [http://www.cyberussr.com/rus/dreiser.html Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945): His Friendship to the Soviet People in 1938-1941], CyberUSSR.com, 1999