Socialist Party of America
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Socialist Party of America
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|---|---|
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| Leader |
Eugene V. Debs Allan L. Benson Norman Thomas Darlington Hoopes |
| Founded | July 29, 1901 |
| Dissolved | December 31, 1972 |
| Preceded by | Social Democratic Party of America |
| Succeeded by |
Social Democrats, USA (majority) Socialist Party (minority) Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (minority) |
| Headquarters | Washington D.C. |
| Youth wing | Young People's Socialist League |
| Ideology | Socialism (American) |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| International affiliation |
Second International (1901–16) Labour and Socialist International (1923–40) Socialist International (1951–72) |
| Colors | Dark red |
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist and social-democratic 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 in 1899.
In the first decades of the 20th century, it drew significant support from many different groups, including trade unionists, progressive social reformers, populist farmers, and immigrants. However it refused to form coalitions with other parties, or even to allow its members to vote for other parties. Eugene V. Debs twice won over 900,000 votes in presidential elections (1912 and 1920), while the party also elected two United States Representatives (Victor L. Berger and Meyer London), dozens of state legislators, more than a hundred mayors, and countless lesser officials. The party's staunch opposition to American involvement in World War I, although welcomed by many, also led to prominent defections, official repression and vigilante persecution. The organization was further shattered by a factional war over how to respond to the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 and the establishment of the Communist International in 1919: many members left the party in favor of the Communist Party.
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