Eugene Dennis
Encyclopedia
Francis Xavier Waldron best known by the pseudonym
Eugene Dennis was an American communist politician and union
organizer, best remembered as the long-time leader of the Communist Party USA
and as named party in Dennis v. United States
, a famous McCarthy Era Supreme Court case.
. He worked in various jobs and was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW), for which was active in California
as a union organizer.
in 1926.
In 1929, Waldron fled to the Soviet Union
to avoid criminal charges for his political activities under the California criminal syndicalism law.
Waldron returned to the United States
in 1935 and assumed the pseudonym
of Eugene Dennis. On his return, the Comintern
leader Dmitry Manuilsky
refused to allow Dennis' son Tim to leave the Soviet Union, keeping him as a hostage to ensure future co-operation. Dennis became General Secretary
of the party after the expulsion of Earl Browder
and was a staunch supporter of the Moscow
line.
On July 20, 1948, Dennis and eleven other party leaders, including Party Chairman William Z. Foster
were arrested and charged under the Alien Registration Act. Foster was not prosecuted due to ill health.
As Dennis and his co-accused had never openly called for the violent overthrow of the United States government, the prosecution depended on passages from the works of Karl Marx
and Vladimir Lenin
and on the testimony of former members of the party who claimed that Dennis and others had privately advocated the use of violence.
After a nine months trial and the imprisonment of the defense lawyers for contempt of court
, Dennis and his co-defendants were found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment. They appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States
, which ruled against the defendants on June 4, 1951 by a vote of six to two in Dennis v. United States
, . The Court later scaled back its Dennis opinion in Yates v. United States
, and rendered the broad conspiracy provisions of the Smith Act unenforceable.
Dennis remained general secretary until 1959, when he succeeded Foster as party chairman, and held that position until his death in 1961.
on January 31, 1961.
He was buried at the Waldheim Cemetery
(now Forest Home Cemetery), in Forest Park
, Illinois.
as being a source for Soviet intelligence
during World War II
. In the transcripts, Dennis is referenced as a contact for a group of concealed Communists in the Office of Strategic Services
and the Office of War Information.
Dennis is referenced in the following Venona transcripts:
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Eugene Dennis was an American communist politician and union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
organizer, best remembered as the long-time leader of the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
and as named party in Dennis v. United States
Dennis v. United States
Dennis v. United States, , was a United States Supreme Court case involving Eugene Dennis, general secretary of the Communist Party USA, which found that Dennis did not have a right under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States to exercise free speech, publication and assembly,...
, a famous McCarthy Era Supreme Court case.
Early years
Francis Xavier Waldron was born on August 10, 1905 in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. He worked in various jobs and was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
(IWW), for which was active in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
as a union organizer.
Political career
Waldron joined the Workers (Communist) PartyCommunist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
in 1926.
In 1929, Waldron fled to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to avoid criminal charges for his political activities under the California criminal syndicalism law.
Waldron returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1935 and assumed the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Eugene Dennis. On his return, the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
leader Dmitry Manuilsky
Dmitry Manuilsky
Dmitriy Manuilsky, or Dmytro Zakharovych Manuilsky was an important Bolshevik. He was the son of an Orthodox priest from a Ukrainian village. After secondary school he enrolled in the University of St...
refused to allow Dennis' son Tim to leave the Soviet Union, keeping him as a hostage to ensure future co-operation. Dennis became General Secretary
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
of the party after the expulsion of Earl Browder
Earl Browder
Earl Russell Browder was an American communist and General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1934 to 1945. He was expelled from the party in 1946.- Early years :...
and was a staunch supporter of the Moscow
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
line.
On July 20, 1948, Dennis and eleven other party leaders, including Party Chairman William Z. Foster
William Z. Foster
William Foster was a radical American labor organizer and Marxist politician, whose career included a lengthy stint as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA...
were arrested and charged under the Alien Registration Act. Foster was not prosecuted due to ill health.
As Dennis and his co-accused had never openly called for the violent overthrow of the United States government, the prosecution depended on passages from the works of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and on the testimony of former members of the party who claimed that Dennis and others had privately advocated the use of violence.
After a nine months trial and the imprisonment of the defense lawyers for contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
, Dennis and his co-defendants were found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment. They appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
, which ruled against the defendants on June 4, 1951 by a vote of six to two in Dennis v. United States
Dennis v. United States
Dennis v. United States, , was a United States Supreme Court case involving Eugene Dennis, general secretary of the Communist Party USA, which found that Dennis did not have a right under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States to exercise free speech, publication and assembly,...
, . The Court later scaled back its Dennis opinion in Yates v. United States
Yates v. United States
Yates v. United States, 354 U.S. 298 , was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States involving free speech and congressional power...
, and rendered the broad conspiracy provisions of the Smith Act unenforceable.
Dennis remained general secretary until 1959, when he succeeded Foster as party chairman, and held that position until his death in 1961.
Death and legacy
Eugene Dennis died of cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on January 31, 1961.
He was buried at the Waldheim Cemetery
German Waldheim Cemetery
German Waldheim Cemetery, also known as Waldheim Cemetery, was a cemetery in Forest Park, a suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. It was originally founded in 1873 as a non-religion specific cemetery, where Freemasons, Roma, and German-speaking immigrants to Chicago could be buried without...
(now Forest Home Cemetery), in Forest Park
Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in the United States. The population was 15,688 at the 2000 census...
, Illinois.
Venona espionage charges
Though never charged with any act of espionage, Dennis was identified in the Venona projectVenona project
The VENONA project was a long-running secret collaboration of the United States and United Kingdom intelligence agencies involving cryptanalysis of messages sent by intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union, the majority during World War II...
as being a source for Soviet intelligence
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the transcripts, Dennis is referenced as a contact for a group of concealed Communists in the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
and the Office of War Information.
Dennis is referenced in the following Venona transcripts:
- 708 KGB Moscow to Mexico City, 8 December 1944
- 1714 KGB New York to Moscow, 5 December 1944
- 55 KGB New York to Moscow, 15 January 1945
Writings
- The elections and the outlook for national unity., New York, Workers Library Publishers, 1944
- America at the crossroads: postwar problems and communist policy., New York, New century publishers, 1945
- Marxism-Leninism vs. revisionism., New York, New Century publishers, 1946 (with William Z. Foster, Jacques Duclos, and John Williamson. Foreword by Max Weiss.)
- The people against the trusts; build a democratic front to defeat reaction now and win a people’s victory in 1948., New York, New Century Publishers, 1946
- What America faces: the new war danger and the struggle for peace, democracy and economic security., New York, New century publishers, 1946
- Let the people know the truth about the Communists which the un-American committee tried to suppress., New York, New century publishers, 1947
- Eugene Dennis indicts the Wall Street conspirators. New York : National Office, Communist Party, 1948
- Ideas they cannot jail., New York, International Publishers, 1950
- Letters from prison. Selected by Peggy Dennis., New York, International Publishers, 1956
- The Communists take a new look., New York, New Century, 1956
Additional sources consulted
- Peggy Dennis, The Autobiography of an American Communist: A Personal View of a Political Life, 1925-1975. Westport, CT: L. Hill, 1977.
- Ann Kimmage, An Un-American Childhood. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1998; pp. 21–22, 120.
- Louis Budenz, Men Without Faces: The Communist Conspiracy in the USA. New York: Harper, 1948; pg. 252.
- John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999.