Editing Communist Party USA (section)

==History==
===Formation===
In 1919, the [[Communist International (1919–1943)|Comintern]] urged the formation of a Statesian communist party composed of left elements of [[Socialism|socialist]] groups that supported the [[dictatorship of the proletariat]]. On July 28, many members of the Socialist Party of America, including [[C. E. Ruthenberg]], [[Louis Fraina]], and [[Bertram D. Wolfe]], decided to split and form a new party.<ref>{{Citation|author=Jacob A. Zumoff|year=2014|title=The Communist International and US Communism, 1919–1929|chapter=The Formation of the Communist Party, 1912–21|page=40–44|pdf=https://discord.com/channels/691004496142401606/735427621982306364/948686196433899560|city=Boston|publisher=Global Oriental and Hotei Publishing}}</ref>

After being expelled from the Socialist Party of America's convention, the Michigan group of the Socialist Party formed the Communist Party of America on September 1, 1919. The Communist Party soon had a membership of 58,000. Another smaller party was formed from this split, the [[Communist Labor Party of America|Communist Labor Party]]. The CPA decided not to cooperate with non-revolutionary parties.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=[[William Z. Foster]]|year=1952|title=History of the Communist Party of the United States|title-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/|chapter=The Formation of the Communist Party  (1919-1921)|chapter-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/2013/01/chapter-twelve-formation-of-communist.html}}</ref>
===Palmer Raids===
On October 16, 1919, the police raided the headquarters of the CLP in Cleveland and arrested its leadership. In New York City, 700 police raided meetings celebrating the anniversary of the [[Russian revolution of 1917|October Revolution]]. During the night of January 6, 1920, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] authorized Attorney General [[A. Mitchell Palmer]] to carry out raids in 70 cities that led to approximately 10,000 arrests. Much of the leadership of the communist parties was arrested and over 500 people were deported. As a result of the [[Palmer Raids]], the membership of the CPA dropped from 60,000 to 10,000. In May 1920, the CPA and CLP combined to form the United Communist Party of America.<ref name=":0" />

In August 1922, the government raided a party convention being held in Bridgman, [[Michigan]].<ref>{{Citation|author=William Z. Foster|year=1952|title=History of the Communist Party of the United States|title-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/|chapter=The Communists and the Capitalist Offensive (1919-1923)|chapter-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/2013/01/chapter-fourteen-communists-and.html}}</ref>

The majority of party members were foreign-born and the party ran 27 publications in almost 20 languages.<ref>{{Citation|author=William Z. Foster|year=1952|title=History of the Communist Party of the United States|title-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/|chapter=Building the Party of the New Type (1919-1929)|chapter-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/2013/01/chapter-nineteen-building-party-of-new.html}}</ref>
===Great Depression===
In October 1929, a major economic crisis known as the [[Great Depression]] began. 17 million workers became unemployed and basic industrial production dropped by 50%. During the first four years of the Depression, party membership increased from under 10,000 to 18,000.

On March 6, 1930, the CPUSA organized a demonstration of over a million workers and unemployed. In [[New York City]], the demonstration was met with 25,000 police and firemen.<ref name=":1">{{Citation|author=William Z. Foster|year=1952|title=History of the Communist Party of the United States|title-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/|chapter=The Communist Party and the Great Economic Crisis (1929-1933)|chapter-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/2013/01/chapter-twenty-communist-party-and.html}}</ref>

The Seventh National Convention of the CPUSA was held in New York City in 1930 with 306 delegates. Party leaders, including [[William Z. Foster]], did not participate because they were in jail after attempting to present the demands of the [[Unemployment|unemployed]] to Mayor [[Jimmy Walker]].<ref>{{Citation|author=Marxists Internet Archive|year=2009|title=Communist Party of the United States of America (1919–1946)|chapter=The Communist Party, USA|publisher=|mia=https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/eam/cpa/communistparty.html}}</ref>

In 1932, William Z. Foster ran for president and received over 100,000 votes.<ref name=":1" />
===Second World War===
The CPUSA was initially opposed to U.S. involvement in the [[Second World War]] but changed its position after [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] attacked the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]]. 15,000 party members fought against [[fascism]] during the war. While many communist men were fighting in the war, women increased their share of leadership in the party and four women were elected to the National Committee.

In 1943, Communist [[Peter V. Cacchione]] was elected to City Council in the [[State of New York|New York]] municipal elections. At the same time, [[Benjamin J. Davis Jr.]] became the first Black communist to be elected to public office. By 1944, the party had 80,000 members.

General Secretary [[Earl Browder]] made an opportunist error and assumed that the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|United Kingdom]] and United States would support the communist movement because they had agreed to help the Soviet Union in the war.<ref>{{Citation|author=William Z. Foster|year=1952|title=History of the Communist Party of the United States|title-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/|chapter=The Communists in the War (1941-1945)|chapter-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/2013/01/chapter-twenty-nine-communists-in-war.html}}</ref>
===Postwar period===
In 1947, the party affirmed the line that the [[African diaspora in the United States|African diaspora]] has a right to full nationhood.

In the 1948 presidential election, the CPUSA supported the [[Progressive Party]], led by [[Henry A. Wallace]], which had been created in 1948. The Progressive Party received 1,158,000 votes in the election.

The CPUSA opposed the [[Korean War]] and [[Syngman Rhee]]'s puppet government in [[Republic of Korea|South Korea]] as well as the U.S. puppet states in [[Taiwan Province]] and [[Republic of Vietnam (1955–1975)|South Vietnam]]. On June 29, 1951, the CPUSA held the [[People's Congress for Peace]] in [[Chicago]]. The congress had 5,000 delegates, including 1,500 Black delegates and over 1,600 women.<ref>{{Citation|author=William Z. Foster|year=1952|title=History of the Communist Party of the United States|title-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/|chapter=The Communist Party and the "Cold War" (1945-1951)|chapter-url=http://williamzfoster.blogspot.com/2013/01/chapter-thirty-three-communist-party.html}}</ref>

=== Liberalization of the CPUSA ===
See: [[Collapse of CPUSA]]

===Modern era===
In 2022, a party member [[Essay:On the Webbite Tendency in CPUSA|published a criticism]] of the leadership of the party for isolating itself from the rank and file. Discussion and debate on the question of the criticism is encouraged, as that is the [[Dialectics|dialectical method]] of arriving at correct facts.<ref>@ProleWiki on [[Twitter]]: [https://twitter.com/prolewiki/status/1546509082797932546?s=20&t=UmYvPWonntfSQABdajpQhg Feel free to polemicize against it in long form. You can use our “Essays” namespace or you can self-publish on substack or your own blog and we’ll be happy to add your criticisms in a section at the bottom of the page]</ref>