U.S. History

Every year, workers across the United States celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of September.  It is seen as a marker of the end of Summer, the start of football season, and the return to school for millions of students. But what is the origin of this holiday?  What is its relation to the internationally celebrated Labor Day on May 1st?

The 1934 Teamsters strike in Minneapolis, led by the Trotskyists of the Communist League of America (the forerunner of the Socialist Workers Party), was a decisive moment in the US labor and socialist movements. During the years preceding the strike, few would have expected the upsurge that took place in 1934.

This letter from Frederick Engels to Florence Kelly Wischnewetsky shows his perspective for the development of a labor party in the United States and the way that the Marxists should orient to such a party.  He warns revolutionaries in the U.S. of the dangers of transforming Marxist ideas into a lifeless dogma by taking a sectarian attitude towards such a massive movement of the working class "not of their creation."  Even in this brief letter, there are numerous lessons for Marxists today.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he [Utah Phillips] grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah where he spent many years of his life, always having a love-hate relationship with his adopted state.  It was here he met Ammon Hennacy, a Catholic fellow Wobbly who founded the Joe Hill House. Utah was a long-standing member of the Industrial Workers of the World. He spent many years working with both the IWW and at the Joe Hill House with Ammon. Utah Phillips spent his life defending the rights of the working man, the homeless and the indigent and also had a lifelong passion for trains and hobos.

In 1774 the delegates for the Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia. Hostilities had already broken out and the delegates, although all from the wealthier classes of society, were under pressure to adopt a more radical stand. Originally the majority of the upper class Americans did not want independence. But the mood of the masses made all thought of compromise impossible. The situation was explosive and this favored the most radical elements in Congress. As a result, on July 4, 1776, the Thirteen United States of America declared their independence from Great Britain. Originally published in the book Marxism and the USA, published by and available from Wellred.

On Saturday, January 12, nearly twenty people gathered near Middle Tennessee State University for the region’s first “Marxist Day School.” The event, organized by the Workers International League, consisted of vibrant discussions on how Marxism remains relevant in the 21st century and how working people around the world are fighting to make socialism a reality. As the meeting opened, everyone was welcomed and thanked for attending. The comrades and guests then introduced themselves, setting a friendly mood for the rest of the day.

If there was one man who embodied the spirit of revolutionary democracy, it was Tom Paine. He inspired the American Revolution of 1776, took part in the French Revolution of 1789 and, while abroad in France, was tried in Britain for seditious libel for writing his book 'The Rights of Man' 

In the early hours of 31^st January 1968, 70,000 North Vietnamese soldiers, together with guerrilla fighters of the NLF, launched one of the most daring military campaigns in history. The Tet Offensive was the real turning point in the Vietnam War. On its 40^th anniversary, Alan Woods analyses the events that led to the Vietnam War and the significance of the Tet Offensive in bringing about the defeat of US imperialism, and draws some parallels with Iraq.