Sam DeWitt
Encyclopedia
Samuel Aaron "Sam" DeWitt (1891 – January 22, 1963) was a businessman, poet, playwright
, and politician. He is best remembered as a New York
State Legislator
who represented Bronx's 7th district from 1919 until his expulsion from the Assembly in 1920.
throughout his life.
DeWitt first applied for membership in the Socialist Party on August 29, 1913.
along with four fellow Legislators for being members of the Socialist Party
. After a protracted "trial" before the Assembly, argued by Morris Hillquit
and Seymour Stedman
, DeWitt was seated, along with two of his comrades. The other expelled Socialist Assemblymen included August Claessens
, Samuel Orr
, Charles Solomon
, and Louis Waldman
.
After his expulsion in 1920, DeWitt was a frequent candidate for political office without success. He ran fruitlessly in the Bronx 7th District in 1924 and 1926, for Bronx borough president in 1925, for the Bronx 3rd District in 1927 and 1929, and the Queens 4th District in 1932.
DeWitt made several unsuccessful campaigns for United States Congress
, running in the 22nd District of New York in 1928, the 2nd District of New York in 1934 and once again in 1935.
During the bitter faction fights of the 1930s in the Socialist Party, DeWitt authored a weekly piece for The Socialist Call, a newspaper published each Saturday in New York City in opposition to the journal of the Old Guard faction
, The New Leader. DeWitt authored a regular column called "Turn to the Left," in which he expounded upon his political beliefs. While not accepting the Old Guard's extreme gradualist approach, neither was DeWitt a communist. With regard to the Communist Party's
efforts to establish a united front
in 1935, DeWitt wrote:
The battle between the Old Guard headed by Louis Waldman against a bloc of the Militant faction
of Jack Altman with the "Progressive" group headed by Norman Thomas came to a head in the last days of 1935. DeWitt sided decisively with the latter grouping, breaking ranks with his long-time comrades of the Old Guard. DeWitt stood as a candidate for the New York State Committee of the SPA as part of the Progressive/Militant slate in the April 2, 1936, New York primaries and he won election in Queens County Assembly District 4. The Progressive/Militant bloc won a comfortable majority of seats on the State Committee in this election.
In a last-gasp effort to retain power, New York Socialist Party State Chairman Waldman called a snap reorganizational meeting on 3 days' notice after the certification of the primary results, to be held in the distant city of Buffalo
, as was his prerogative under that state constitution. The Old Guard was defeated in this effort to outmaneuver their opposition with timing and geography, however, and Harry W. Laidler
defeated Waldman in his bid for re-election at the April reorganizational meeting by a vote of 60-42. DeWitt was elected State Treasurer of the Socialist Party of New York at this session.
. In Sinclair's famous muckraking
novel The Jungle
, published in 1906, one of the main characters, Nicolas Schliemann, is said to be based on Sam DeWitt.
Throughout his life, DeWitt was a poet and a playwright, publishing books in both genres.
DeWitt died on January 22, 1963 in Yonkers, New York. He was survived by his wife Augusta, who died in 1985.
DeWitt's great grandson is Sky Dayton
, founder of EarthLink.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, and politician. He is best remembered as a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
State Legislator
Legislator
A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...
who represented Bronx's 7th district from 1919 until his expulsion from the Assembly in 1920.
Early years
DeWitt was born in 1891. He worked as a machinery dealer and was an active SocialistSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
throughout his life.
DeWitt first applied for membership in the Socialist Party on August 29, 1913.
Political career
Dewitt is most famous for being thrown out of the New York State AssemblyNew York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
along with four fellow Legislators for being members of the Socialist Party
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
. After a protracted "trial" before the Assembly, argued by Morris Hillquit
Morris Hillquit
Morris Hillquit was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side during the early 20th century.-Early years:...
and Seymour Stedman
Seymour Stedman
Seymour Stedman was a prominent civil liberties lawyer and a leader of the Socialist Party of America. He is best remembered as the 1920 Vice Presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of America, when he ran for office on a ticket headed by Eugene V...
, DeWitt was seated, along with two of his comrades. The other expelled Socialist Assemblymen included August Claessens
August Claessens
August "Gus" Claessens was an American socialist politician, best known as one of the five New York Assemblymen expelled from that body during the First Red Scare for their membership in the Socialist Party of America...
, Samuel Orr
Samuel Orr
Samuel Orr was a socialist politician from New York City best remembered for being one of the five elected members of the Socialist Party of America expelled by the New York State Assembly during the Red Scare of 1919-1920.-Early years:...
, Charles Solomon
Charles Solomon (politician)
Charles "Charley" Solomon was a socialist politician from New York City, elected to the New York State Assembly in 1919 and expelled with four of his fellows on the first day of the legislative session, one week after the sensational Palmer Raids...
, and Louis Waldman
Louis Waldman
Louis Waldman was a leading figure in the Socialist Party of America from the late 1910s and through the middle 1930s, a founding member of the Social Democratic Federation, and a prominent New York labor lawyer.-Early years:...
.
After his expulsion in 1920, DeWitt was a frequent candidate for political office without success. He ran fruitlessly in the Bronx 7th District in 1924 and 1926, for Bronx borough president in 1925, for the Bronx 3rd District in 1927 and 1929, and the Queens 4th District in 1932.
DeWitt made several unsuccessful campaigns for United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, running in the 22nd District of New York in 1928, the 2nd District of New York in 1934 and once again in 1935.
During the bitter faction fights of the 1930s in the Socialist Party, DeWitt authored a weekly piece for The Socialist Call, a newspaper published each Saturday in New York City in opposition to the journal of the Old Guard faction
Old Guard faction
The Old Guard faction was an organized grouping of Marxists in the Socialist Party of America who sought to retain the organization's traditional orientation towards electoral politics by fighting generally younger party members who factionally organized to promote greater efforts at direct action...
, The New Leader. DeWitt authored a regular column called "Turn to the Left," in which he expounded upon his political beliefs. While not accepting the Old Guard's extreme gradualist approach, neither was DeWitt a communist. With regard to the Communist Party's
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....
efforts to establish a united front
United front
The united front is a form of struggle that may be pursued by revolutionaries. The basic theory of the united front tactic was first developed by the Comintern, an international communist organisation created by revolutionaries in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.According to the theses of...
in 1935, DeWitt wrote:
"I can only deplore [the Communists'] capacity for hatred. I can only distrust their sincerity when they call me to a 'united front.' I can only say to them: 'Lenin was a great teacher and undoubtedly a great leader. But he was a human.
"It is quite possible that he erred when he instructed you to treat Socialists who believed in achieving revolution through democracy in other lands, as enemies of the workers. It is also quite possible that he was wrong in his decision that all means, mostly foul, must be used against the enemies of the masses.... It is also possible that Socialists have a right to question whether Lenin or you or any of your committees are God.'"
The battle between the Old Guard headed by Louis Waldman against a bloc of the Militant faction
Militant faction
The Militant faction was an organized grouping of Marxists in the Socialist Party of America who sought to steer that organization from its orientation towards electoral politics and towards direct action and revolutionary socialism. The faction emerged during 1930 and 1931 and achieved practical...
of Jack Altman with the "Progressive" group headed by Norman Thomas came to a head in the last days of 1935. DeWitt sided decisively with the latter grouping, breaking ranks with his long-time comrades of the Old Guard. DeWitt stood as a candidate for the New York State Committee of the SPA as part of the Progressive/Militant slate in the April 2, 1936, New York primaries and he won election in Queens County Assembly District 4. The Progressive/Militant bloc won a comfortable majority of seats on the State Committee in this election.
In a last-gasp effort to retain power, New York Socialist Party State Chairman Waldman called a snap reorganizational meeting on 3 days' notice after the certification of the primary results, to be held in the distant city of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, as was his prerogative under that state constitution. The Old Guard was defeated in this effort to outmaneuver their opposition with timing and geography, however, and Harry W. Laidler
Harry W. Laidler
Harry Wellington Laidler was an American socialist functionary, writer, magazine editor, and politician. He is best remembered as Executive Director of the League for Industrial Democracy, successor to the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, and for his close political association with perennial...
defeated Waldman in his bid for re-election at the April reorganizational meeting by a vote of 60-42. DeWitt was elected State Treasurer of the Socialist Party of New York at this session.
Literary endeavors
DeWitt was a long-time friend of left wing writer Upton SinclairUpton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
. In Sinclair's famous muckraking
Muckraker
The term muckraker is closely associated with reform-oriented journalists who wrote largely for popular magazines, continued a tradition of investigative journalism reporting, and emerged in the United States after 1900 and continued to be influential until World War I, when through a combination...
novel The Jungle
The Jungle
The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by journalist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair wrote the novel with the intention of portraying the life of the immigrant in the United States, but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking...
, published in 1906, one of the main characters, Nicolas Schliemann, is said to be based on Sam DeWitt.
Throughout his life, DeWitt was a poet and a playwright, publishing books in both genres.
Later years, death and legacy
From the 1930s, Sam DeWitt was the President and Treasurer of the DeWitt Tool Company, with offices at 252 Lafayette Street in New York City. The firm bought and sold used machinery and equipment, and included among its services the liquidation of defunct industrial plants. The company had for its slogan "The House of a Thousand Bargains."DeWitt died on January 22, 1963 in Yonkers, New York. He was survived by his wife Augusta, who died in 1985.
DeWitt's great grandson is Sky Dayton
Sky Dayton
Sky Dylan Dayton is an American entrepreneur.Dayton is the founder of EarthLink, co-founder of eCompanies, founder and chairman of Boingo.-Early life:...
, founder of EarthLink.
Books by Samuel A. DeWitt
- Idylls of the Ghetto and Other Poems. New York: Rand Book Store, 1927.
- Riding the Storm: Poems. New York: Academy Press, n.d. [c. 1930].
- Rhapsodies in Red: Songs for the Social Revolution. New York: Rand School Press, 1933.
- Harvest: Collected Poems. New York: Burmond Press, 1937.
- The Shoemaker of the Stars and Other Poems. New York: Parnassus Press, 1940.
- Where are the Snows? A Drama of Mediæval France (in two acts & nine scenes). New York: Parnassus Press, 1941.
- Rhyme without Reason: A Comedy without Manners, in Three Acts and Six Scenes. New York: Parnassus Press, 1941.
- More Sonnets to a Dark Lady, and Others. New York: Parnassus Press, 1942.
- Where Are the Snows? A Play in Two Acts and Nine Scenes. New York: Parnassus Press, 1942.
- Words for Music: A Book of Lyrics. New York: Parnassus Press, 1942.
- Shoes for the Stars: A Play in Three Acts for Children of All Ages. New York: Parnassus Press, 1944.
- No Road Back: Poems. With Walter Mehring. New York: Curl, 1944.
- The Sermon on the Mount: Set to Rhyme and Rhythm out of the King James Version of the New Testament, the Gospel According to Matthew. New York: Strathmore Press, 1948.
- Tomorrow sings: For Voice and Piano. With Jacques Wolfe. New York: C. Fischer, 1949.
- Three Plays for Non-Puritans: Where Are the Snows? Shoes for the Stars; Rhyme without Reason. New York: Strathmore Press, 1951.
- François Villon: A Drama for Music in Two acts and Nine Scenes (an opera libretto in search of a composer). New York: Greenberg, 1956.
- The Agony of St. Joan: A Drama for Music in Two Acts and Four Scenes. (An opera libretto in search of a composer). New York: Greenberg, 1957.
- The Song of Songs. New York: Greenberg, 1957.
- Songs and Sonnets. New York: M. Loeb, 1963.
Additional reading
- New York State Legislature, Standing Committee on the Judiciary, Louis M. Martin, Louis Waldman, Samuel Aaron De Witt, August Claessens, Samuel Orr, Charles Solomon, Proceedings of the Judiciary Committee of the Assembly: In The Matter Of The Investigation By The Assembly Of The State Of New York As To The Qualifications Of Louis Waldman, August Claessens, Samuel A DeWitt, Samuel Orr, And Charles Solomon To Retain Their Seats In Said Body. In Three Volumes. New York: J.B. Lyon Co., 1920. Available online: Volume I, Volume II, Volume III.
- Louis Waldman, Albany: The Crisis in Government: The History of the Suspension, Trial and Expulsion from the New York State Legislature in 1920 of the Five Socialist Assemblymen by Their Political Opponents. Introduction by Seymour StedmanSeymour StedmanSeymour Stedman was a prominent civil liberties lawyer and a leader of the Socialist Party of America. He is best remembered as the 1920 Vice Presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of America, when he ran for office on a ticket headed by Eugene V...
. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1920.