Communist and Workers Parties collection

Collection

Identifier: HLL-2019-035

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Communist and Workers Parties collection, 1930-1991, undated comprises internal, information, and international bulletins that reflect the activities and political sentiments of the Communist League of America (Opposition), the International Communist League, the League of Communist Internationalists, and the Workers Party of the United States.

Dates

1930-1936, 1982-1987, 1991

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Biographical / Historical

The Communist League of America (Opposition) (CLA) was founded in 1929 by James P. Cannon, Max Shachtman, and Martin Abern after they were expelled from the Workers Party after aligning with the Russian Left Opposition which supported Leon Trotsky over Stalinism. The CLA was officially established at a convention in Chicago held on May 17-19, 1929, and originally intended to align itself as a faction of the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA) with the hopes of influencing the CPUSA with Trotskyist theory. However, the CLA remained independent until 1934 when the organization merged with the American Workers Party (AWP) after the CLA’s Third National Convention in New York City on November 28-30, 1934.

Extent

2.08 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection reflects the activities and political sentiments of the Communist League of America (Opposition), the International Communist League, the League of Communist Internationalists, and the Workers Party of the United States. It comprises internal, information, and international bulletins.

Arrangement

The collection is alphabetically arranged in one series.

Custodial History

The Communist and Workers Parties collection was donated to the Holt Labor Library in San Francisco, California between 1992 and 2019, and were acquired by the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills, in 2019.