Thomas A. Jackson
Encyclopedia
Socialist Party of Great Britain
The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...
and later the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
. He was a leading communist activist and newspaper editor and worked variously as a party functionary and a freelance lecturer.
Early years
Thomas A. Jackson, best known as a writer as T. A. Jackson and by his friends as "Tommy," was born in ClerkenwellClerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
on 21 August 1879. Jackson was apprenticed in the printing trade at an early age.
Political career
In 1900 he joined the Social Democratic FederationSocial Democratic Federation
The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...
and helped found the Socialist Party of Great Britain
Socialist Party of Great Britain
The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...
with the Impossibilist section in 1904. Briefly General Secretary in 1906, he was a very active speaker but, perhaps oddly given his later career, wrote only two brief items for the Socialist Standard
Socialist Standard
The Socialist Standard is a monthly socialist magazine published without interruption since 1904 by the Socialist Party of Great Britain. The magazine is written in a simple, direct style and focuses mainly on socialist advocacy and Marxian analysis of current events, particularly those affecting...
. He resigned on 9 March 1909 to become paid speaker for the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
.
He left the ILP in 1911, then becoming a speaker for the National Secular Society
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and finally a freelance lecturer. During the First World War he found employment as a storekeeper and in 1917 he joined the Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903)
The Socialist Labour Party was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1903 as a splinter from the Social Democratic Federation by James Connolly, Neil Maclean and SDF members impressed with the politics of the American socialist Daniel De Leon, a Marxist...
, becoming a lecturer for the North East Labour College Committee in 1919.
In 1920 Jackson was a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
, although he was not present at the foundation congress. During the 1920s he was a major figure in the CPGB, being on the Central Committee from 1924 to 1929 and editor of The Communist and The Sunday Worker. He was one of those arrested before the General Strike of 1926. He was removed from the leadership in 1929, essentially for opposing the ‘Left turn’ (the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
being ‘social-fascist’), but remained a paid journalist for the CPGB, being a frequent contributor to the Daily Worker
Daily Worker
The Daily Worker was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, some attempts were made to make it appear that the paper reflected a...
and writing several CPGB pamphlets.
The classic self-educated working-class intellectual, Jackson was renowned for his oratorical skill, and notorious for his lack of cleanliness. Jackson was married to another SPGB founder member, Kate Hawkins.
In the early 1930s he was secretary of the League of Militant Atheists
League of Militant Atheists
The League of Militant Atheists ; other names include Общество безбожников and Союз безбожников , was a mass volunteer antireligious organization of Soviet workers and others in 1925–1947...
.
Death and legacy
Tommy Jackson died on 18 August 1955, just three days shy of his 76th birthday.Sources consulted
- Socialist Party of Great BritainSocialist Party of Great BritainThe Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...
1904–1913 membership register. - Justice.
- Thomas A. Jackson. Solo Trumpet.
- "Thomas A. Jackson". Dictionary of Labour Biography, Volume IV.
- Vivien Morton and Stuart Macintyre. TA Jackson: A Centenary Appreciation. Our History pamphlet 73, 1979.
- Socialist StandardSocialist StandardThe Socialist Standard is a monthly socialist magazine published without interruption since 1904 by the Socialist Party of Great Britain. The magazine is written in a simple, direct style and focuses mainly on socialist advocacy and Marxian analysis of current events, particularly those affecting...
, August 1909.
External links
- T.A. Jackson Archive Marxists Internet Archive