American Communism and Soviet Russia / Edition 1

by Theodore Draper

Overview

This companion volume to The Roots of American Communism brings to completion what the author describes as the essence of the relationship of American Communism to Soviet Russia in the first decade after the Bolsheviks seized power. The outpouring of new archive materials makes it plain that Draper's premise is direct and to the point: The communist movement "was transformed from a new expression of American radicalism to the American appendage of a Russian revolutionary power." Each generation must find this out for itself, and no better guide exists than the work of master historian Theodore Draper. American Communism and Soviet Russia is acknowledged to be the classic, authoritative history of the critical formative period of the American Communist Party. Based on confidential minutes of the top party committees, interviews with party leaders, and public records, this book carefully documents the influence of the Soviet Union on the fundamental nature of American Communism. Draper's reflections on that period in this edition are a fitting capstone to this pioneering effort.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765805317
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/30/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	626
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Theodore Draper is the author of many books on contemporary politics and international relations. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and lives in Princeton, New Jersey. Both The Roots of American Communism and American Communism and Soviet Russia were commissioned by the Fund for the Republic series on Communism in American Life edited by Clinton Rossiter.

Table of Contents

1: The New Day; 2: The Farmer-Labor United Front; 3: Roads to Chicago; 4: The Parting of the Ways; 5: The LaFollette Fiasco; 6: How to Win a Majority; 7: Bolshevization; 8: Party Life; 9: Politics and Trade-Unionism; 10: Ruthenberg's Last Wish; 11: Lovestone in Power; 12: American Exceptionalism; 13: The Turning Point; 14: The Sixth World Congress; 15: The Negro Question; 16: The Birth of American Trotskyism; 17: The Runaway Convention; 18: How to Lose a Majority; Afterword

Editorial Reviews

"There are surprisingly few scholarly histories of individual Communist parties and even fewer which treat this crucial decade in intimate detail. Draper's account is therefore of great importance." —Daniel Bell, Saturday Review "In reading Draper's closely packed pages, one hardly knows whether to marvel more at the detachment with which he examines the Communist movement, the patience with which he unravels the dreary and intricate struggles for power among the top leaders, or the intelligence with which he analyzes the interplay of factors determining the development of American Communism." —Arthur M. Schlesinger, The New York Times Book Review ". . . will long be a definitive source volume and analysis of the Stalinization of American Communism." —Michael Harrington, Commonweal

From the Publisher