Young Communist League, USA
Encyclopedia
The Young Communist League USA (YCLUSA) is the fraternal
youth organization of the Communist Party USA
. Although the name of the group has changed a number of times over the years, it dates its lineage back to 1920, shortly after the establishment of the first communist parties in America.
affected its youth section as well, the Young People's Socialist League
(YPSL). The YPSL declared itself an independent organization in the fall of 1919, sympathetic to the left wing
which had been expelled or left the party. A portion of this "Independent Young People's Socialist League" organization dropped out from activity during this period, while the group's officials, including in the first place Executive Secretary Oliver Carlson, attempted to steer the group to a position of neutrality between the two warring factions of American communism, the Communist Party of America and the Communist Labor Party
.
sent a fraternal delegate to the 2nd Convention of the United Communist Party, held at Kingston, New York
from December 24, 1920 to January 2, 1921. A report was delivered by this delegate on the youth situation in America and the convention at this time first decided to establish a serious youth section, to be called the Young Communist League. The resolution passed by the convention pledged the UCP would provide its youth section assistance by helping to produce and distribute its literature, by helping to gain control of existing units of the Independent YPSL and organizing them into communist groups, by helping to organize new units, by providing it financial assistance, by lending it speakers and teachers, and by alloting it space in the official party periodicals. The establishment of a parallel "aboveground" to the technically illegal YCL was called for.
Owing to government pressure from the Palmer Raids
of the first red scare
, the entire communist movement in America had operated a clandestine model of organization, akin to that of the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party
prior to the Russian Revolution. The YCL was no different, its leaders and members making use of pseudonym
s and holding their meetings in secret.
This did not mean that there was no national convention of the organization. The founding convention of the YCL was held early in May 1922, apparently in Bethel, Connecticut
. It was a small and low key gathering, including just 14 delegates from 4 of the Communist Party's 12 national districts. The gathering heard a report from Max Bedacht
of the adult party dealing with the discussions and decisions of the 3rd World Congress of the Communist International and its February 1922 special conference. The convention adopted a constitution and a program for the YCL, as well as a resolution delineating the relationship of the youth league with the adult party. A governing National Executive Committee of 5 was elected. The initiation fee to join the YCL was 50 cents and dues were 25 cents per month, receipted with stamps issued by the National Office. The basic unit of organization was the "group" consisting, ideally, of from 5 to 10 members and meeting at least every other week. Groups elected their own captains to coordinate their activities with the center. Multiple groups were parts of a "section" of up to 5 groups, multiple sections were part of a "sub-district," which was in turn a subdivision of the regular geographic "districts" of the Communist Party.
The underground form of organization made it very difficult to attract and hold quality recruits — recruiting had to be by word of mouth, literature distribution surreptitious, advertising of meetings non-existent. Accordingly, very little progress was made in building the size and effectiveness of the organization. This underground YCL continued in existence until early 1923, when it was terminated together with the underground adult Communist Party, leaving the "overground" youth and adult groups as the only remaining organizations.
For the young communist youth, this organization was the Young Workers League of America (YWL), established in 1922. As was the case with the corresponding adult organization, the "legal" YWL had a much easier time establishing itself. At the small cost of eliminating a few ill considered ultra-revolutionary phrases from its literature, the YWL was able to meet in the open, to advertise its events, and to distribute its newspapers, leaflets, and pamphlets with only minimal interference from the legal authorities. Consequently, it was able to attract a steady stream of new devotees to the cause — although, as was the case with the adult party, retention of its new recruits always remained problematic. The YWL was also bolstered, as was its adult counterpart, by the addition of a new mass of members coming into the organization from the Finnish Socialist Federation
— the largest foreign language federation
of the Socialist Party, which had been biding its time as an independent organization since 1921, waiting for an end to the ineffectual underground form of organization. In the middle 1920s, the Workers Party of America was approximately 40% Finnish-American — and its youth section was no exception to this trend.
The founding convention of the YWL was held in Brooklyn, New York from May 13 to 15, 1922, held appropriately enough at Finnish Socialist Hall. Oliver Carlson delivered the keynote speech to the 30 regular and 5 fraternal delegates. Carlson claimed a presence for the nascent YWL in 46 cities and a membership of "at the very least," 2200. The convention approved a manifesto, program, constitution, and various resolutions. Membership in the organization was said to be open to "all proletarians" between the ages of 14 and 30. The basic unit of organization of the YWL was the "branch," consisting of not less than 5 nor more than 150 members. Two or more branches in a single large city were to form a "City Central Committee" to coordinate their activities, and all units were to be part of the regular array of districts used by the adult party. The initiation fee was 25 cents and dues 25 cents per month, with all initiation fees and 10 cents of every month's dues going to support the National Office.
The organization was governed by a National Executive Committee of 7, of whom at least 5 were to live in a single locale. Chicago was set as the headquarters city for the organization, a change from the group's provisional base of operations in New York. Martin Abern
was elected as National Secretary of the organization, Oliver Carlson was named as editor, and the pair were joined on the NEC by business manager Harry Gannes, treasurer Gus Schulenberg, and future fixture of the 1930s American radical movement Herbert Zam.
The name of the youth league ultimately followed the name of the adult party, becoming the Young Workers (Communist) League in 1926 when the Workers Party became the "Workers (Communist) Party" and to the Young Communist League, USA in 1929 when the adult party became the "Communist Party, USA."
initiated a period of the YCL's greatest growth and it may have had as many as 12,000 members in New York City alone by 1939.
In 1944 the YCL followed the CPUSA into dissolution, reconstituting itself as American Youth for Democracy (AYD). It retained that name even after the CPUSA reformed in 1946, until contributing toward the youth organization of the Progressive Party
, the Young Progressives of America. The CPUSA reestablished a youth organization in 1949 as the Labor Youth League, which dissolved in the dissention following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the 20th Congress of the CPSU
. In 1965, After a period of mainly local activity, the DuBois Clubs were formed and later renamed the Young Workers Liberation League before reaffirming the original name Young Communist League in 1984.
Fraternal and service organizations
A "fraternal organization" or "fraternity" is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. Please list college fraternities and sororities at List of social fraternities and sororities.-International:...
youth organization 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....
. Although the name of the group has changed a number of times over the years, it dates its lineage back to 1920, shortly after the establishment of the first communist parties in America.
Early years
The 1920 split of the Socialist Party of AmericaSocialist 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...
affected its youth section as well, the Young People's Socialist League
Young People's Socialist League
The Young People's Socialist League , founded in 1989, is the official youth arm of the Socialist Party USA. The group's membership consists of those democratic socialists under the age of 30, and its political activities tend to concentrate on increasing the voter turnout of young democratic...
(YPSL). The YPSL declared itself an independent organization in the fall of 1919, sympathetic to the left wing
Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party
The Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party was an organized faction within the Socialist Party of America in 1919 which served as the core of the dual communist parties which emerged in the fall of that year — the Communist Party of America and the Communist Labor Party of America.-Precusors:A...
which had been expelled or left the party. A portion of this "Independent Young People's Socialist League" organization dropped out from activity during this period, while the group's officials, including in the first place Executive Secretary Oliver Carlson, attempted to steer the group to a position of neutrality between the two warring factions of American communism, the Communist Party of America and the Communist Labor Party
Communist Labor Party
The Communist Labor Party of America was one of the organizational predecessors of the Communist Party USA. The group was established at the end of August 1919 following a three-way split of the Socialist Party of America...
.
The underground period
As early as 1920, a skeleton of a "Young People's Communist League" was in existence. This minuscule, largely paper organizationPaper organization
A paper organization is any group which exists more in theory than reality. The term "paper organization" is used in two different contexts, that of the military and that of the labor movement.-Military:...
sent a fraternal delegate to the 2nd Convention of the United Communist Party, held at Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
from December 24, 1920 to January 2, 1921. A report was delivered by this delegate on the youth situation in America and the convention at this time first decided to establish a serious youth section, to be called the Young Communist League. The resolution passed by the convention pledged the UCP would provide its youth section assistance by helping to produce and distribute its literature, by helping to gain control of existing units of the Independent YPSL and organizing them into communist groups, by helping to organize new units, by providing it financial assistance, by lending it speakers and teachers, and by alloting it space in the official party periodicals. The establishment of a parallel "aboveground" to the technically illegal YCL was called for.
Owing to government pressure from the Palmer Raids
Palmer Raids
The Palmer Raids were attempts by the United States Department of Justice to arrest and deport radical leftists, especially anarchists, from the United States. The raids and arrests occurred in November 1919 and January 1920 under the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer...
of the first red scare
First Red Scare
In American history, the First Red Scare of 1919–1920 was marked by a widespread fear of Bolshevism and anarchism. Concerns over the effects of radical political agitation in American society and alleged spread in the American labor movement fueled the paranoia that defined the period.The First Red...
, the entire communist movement in America had operated a clandestine model of organization, akin to that of the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
prior to the Russian Revolution. The YCL was no different, its leaders and members making use of pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s and holding their meetings in secret.
This did not mean that there was no national convention of the organization. The founding convention of the YCL was held early in May 1922, apparently in Bethel, Connecticut
Bethel, Connecticut
Bethel is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, about sixty miles from New York City. Its population was 18,584 at the 2010 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place...
. It was a small and low key gathering, including just 14 delegates from 4 of the Communist Party's 12 national districts. The gathering heard a report from Max Bedacht
Max Bedacht
Max Bedacht Sr. was a German-born American revolutionary socialist political activist, journalist, and functionary who helped establish the Communist Party of America. Bedacht is best remembered as the long-time head of the International Workers Order, a Communist Party-sponsored fraternal benefit...
of the adult party dealing with the discussions and decisions of the 3rd World Congress of the Communist International and its February 1922 special conference. The convention adopted a constitution and a program for the YCL, as well as a resolution delineating the relationship of the youth league with the adult party. A governing National Executive Committee of 5 was elected. The initiation fee to join the YCL was 50 cents and dues were 25 cents per month, receipted with stamps issued by the National Office. The basic unit of organization was the "group" consisting, ideally, of from 5 to 10 members and meeting at least every other week. Groups elected their own captains to coordinate their activities with the center. Multiple groups were parts of a "section" of up to 5 groups, multiple sections were part of a "sub-district," which was in turn a subdivision of the regular geographic "districts" of the Communist Party.
The underground form of organization made it very difficult to attract and hold quality recruits — recruiting had to be by word of mouth, literature distribution surreptitious, advertising of meetings non-existent. Accordingly, very little progress was made in building the size and effectiveness of the organization. This underground YCL continued in existence until early 1923, when it was terminated together with the underground adult Communist Party, leaving the "overground" youth and adult groups as the only remaining organizations.
Establishment of the "overground" organization
Finnish Socialist Federation
The Finnish Socialist Federation was a language federation of the Socialist Party of America which united Finnish language-speaking immigrants in the United States in a national organization designed to conduct propaganda and education for socialism among their community.-Early Finnish socialist...
— the largest foreign language federation
Language federation
Language Federations were formed in the late 19th and early 20th century by immigrants to the United States, primarily from Eastern and Southern Europe, who shared a commitment to some form of socialist politics...
of the Socialist Party, which had been biding its time as an independent organization since 1921, waiting for an end to the ineffectual underground form of organization. In the middle 1920s, the Workers Party of America was approximately 40% Finnish-American — and its youth section was no exception to this trend.
The founding convention of the YWL was held in Brooklyn, New York from May 13 to 15, 1922, held appropriately enough at Finnish Socialist Hall. Oliver Carlson delivered the keynote speech to the 30 regular and 5 fraternal delegates. Carlson claimed a presence for the nascent YWL in 46 cities and a membership of "at the very least," 2200. The convention approved a manifesto, program, constitution, and various resolutions. Membership in the organization was said to be open to "all proletarians" between the ages of 14 and 30. The basic unit of organization of the YWL was the "branch," consisting of not less than 5 nor more than 150 members. Two or more branches in a single large city were to form a "City Central Committee" to coordinate their activities, and all units were to be part of the regular array of districts used by the adult party. The initiation fee was 25 cents and dues 25 cents per month, with all initiation fees and 10 cents of every month's dues going to support the National Office.
The organization was governed by a National Executive Committee of 7, of whom at least 5 were to live in a single locale. Chicago was set as the headquarters city for the organization, a change from the group's provisional base of operations in New York. Martin Abern
Martin Abern
Martin Abern was a Marxist politician who was an important leader of the Communist youth movement of the 1920s as well as a founder of the American Trotskyist movement.-Early years:...
was elected as National Secretary of the organization, Oliver Carlson was named as editor, and the pair were joined on the NEC by business manager Harry Gannes, treasurer Gus Schulenberg, and future fixture of the 1930s American radical movement Herbert Zam.
The name of the youth league ultimately followed the name of the adult party, becoming the Young Workers (Communist) League in 1926 when the Workers Party became the "Workers (Communist) Party" and to the Young Communist League, USA in 1929 when the adult party became the "Communist Party, USA."
The depression decade and after
The turn toward the Popular FrontPopular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
initiated a period of the YCL's greatest growth and it may have had as many as 12,000 members in New York City alone by 1939.
In 1944 the YCL followed the CPUSA into dissolution, reconstituting itself as American Youth for Democracy (AYD). It retained that name even after the CPUSA reformed in 1946, until contributing toward the youth organization of the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1948)
The United States Progressive Party of 1948 was a left-wing political party that ran former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for president and U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho for vice president in 1948.-Foundation:...
, the Young Progressives of America. The CPUSA reestablished a youth organization in 1949 as the Labor Youth League, which dissolved in the dissention following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the 20th Congress of the CPSU
20th Congress of the CPSU
The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was held during 14– 25 February 1956. It is known especially for Nikita Khrushchev's "Secret Speech", which denounced the personality cult and dictatorship of Joseph Stalin....
. In 1965, After a period of mainly local activity, the DuBois Clubs were formed and later renamed the Young Workers Liberation League before reaffirming the original name Young Communist League in 1984.
The YCL today
According to its constitution, "the YCL is devoted to the interests of all young people and is dedicated to the revolutionary cause of the working class of our country, the transformation of the United States through mass democratic struggle into a socialist society."Present operations
In recent years the YCL has experienced a rapid rate of expansion and has, thus, opened chapters all over the country.| State | City/cities | Club name |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Arizona Young Communist Leage | |
| California | Los Angeles | Soutern California Young Communist League |
| Connecticut | New Haven | New Haven Young Communist League |
| Florida | Tampa, Orlando | |
| Ilinois | Chicago | Chicago Young Communist League (Haymarket CLub) |
| Kentucky | Louisville | Kentucky Young Communist League |
| Maryland | Baltimore | Baltimore Young Communist League (Tupac Shakur Club) |
| New York | New York City | New York Young Communist League |
| North Carolina | North Carolina Young Communist League | |
| Ohio | Cleveland, Montpelier | Young Communist League Ohio, Young Communist League NW Ohio |
| South Carolina | South Carolina Young Communist League | |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Young Communist League | |
| Texas | Austin, Beaumont, Copperas Cove, Houston, Hurst, Linden, Plano, San Marcos | Texas Young Communist League (Austin Club, Beaumont Club, Copperas Cove Club, Houston Club, Red River Club, Linden Club, Los Rios Club, San Marcos Club) |
| West Virginia | West Virginia Young Communist League |
See also
- W.E.B. DuBois Clubs of AmericaW.E.B. DuBois Clubs of AmericaThe W.E.B. DuBois Clubs of America was a national youth organization sponsored by the Communist Party USA and launched at a national convention held in San Francisco in June 1964...
- Young Democratic SocialistsYoung Democratic SocialistsYoung Democratic Socialists is a democratic socialist youth organization in the United States. It is the youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America, whose political outlook it shares, and the American affiliate of the International Union of Socialist Youth...
- Worker Rights ConsortiumWorker Rights ConsortiumThe Worker Rights Consortium is an independent labor rights monitoring organization focused on protecting the rights of workers who sew apparel and make other products sold in the United States, particularly those bearing college or university logos...
- United Students Against SweatshopsUnited Students Against SweatshopsUnited Students Against Sweatshops is a student organization with chapters at over 250 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In April 2000, USAS founded the Worker Rights Consortium , an independent monitoring organization that investigates labor conditions in factories that...
- Student/Farmworker AllianceStudent/Farmworker AllianceStudent/Farmworker Alliance is a national network of students and youth formally organized in 2000. SFA organizes in direct partnership and solidarity with farmworkers, working to eliminate sweatshop conditions and modern-day slavery in the agricultural fields of the United States...
- Students for a Democratic SocietyStudents for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
External links
- Young Communist League, USA
- Dynamic - quarterly magazine of the YCLUSA
- Young Communist League (1921 - 1939). Historical documents of the YCL, archived at Early American Marxism website. Retrieved September 27, 2006.