New York Communist Club
Communist Club of New York | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1857 |
| Dissolved | 1867 |
| Preceded by | American Workers League |
| Succeeded by | International Workingmen's Association in America |
| Ideology | Communism Humanism Abolitionism |
| Political position | Left |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Socialism in the United States |
|---|
The New York Communist Club was a communist organisation set up in New York City in 1857. It was particularly active in the abolitionist struggle.[1]
Around 30 German immigrants formed the New York Communist Club on October 25, 1857, at a meeting at 148 Fulton Street, New York City. It was the only socialist organization before the American Civil War that allowed black people to join.[2] Friedrich Sorge, Albert Komp and Abraham Jacobi were involved in forming the organisation.[3] The Club adopted as a fundamental principle that "every [doctrine] not founded on the perception of concrete objects" should be rejected.[4] They also stated: "We recognize no distinction as to nationality or race, caste, or status, color, or sex; our goal is but reconciliation of all human interests, freedom, and happiness for mankind, and the realization and unification of a world republic."[5]
The club did not hold any meetings during the Civil War as so many of its members joined the Union army. Fritz Jacobi, vice-president of the club, died at the Battle of Fredericksburg.[6]
In 1867, the New York Communist Club affiliated as Section 1 of the International Workingmen's Association.[7][8]
References
- ^ Nimtz, August H. Jr. (2003). Marx, Tocqueville, and Race in America: The 'Absolute Democracy' or 'Defiled ... Lexington Books. p. 79.
- ^ History 1977, p. 334.
- ^ Ernst, Robert (1994). Immigrant Life in New York City, 1825-1863. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. p. 119.
- ^ Messer-Kruse, Timothy (1988). The Yankee International: Marxism and the American Reform Tradition, 1848-1876. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 73. ISBN 0-8078-2403-8.
- ^ Foster, William Z. "History of the Communist Party of the United States". Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ^ Foner 1977, p. 31.
- ^ Arneson, Eric, ed. (2007). Encyclopedia of U.S. labor and working-class history. New York: Routledge. p. 1288. ISBN 978-0-415-96826-3.
- ^ Foner 1977, p. 36.
Works cited
- Foner, Philip (1977). American Socialism and Black Americans: From The Age of Jackson to World War II. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0837195454.
- Foner, Philip (1977). "Statuten Des Kommunisten Klubs in New York". Science & Society. 41 (3). Guilford Press: 334–37. doi:10.2307/40402034. JSTOR 40402034.