International Socialist Congress of Amsterdam
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Second International
|
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|---|---|
| Founded | July 14, 1889 |
| Dissolved | 1916 |
| Preceded by |
International Workingmen's Association (not legal predecessor) |
| Succeeded by |
Labour and Socialist International International Working Union of Socialist Parties Comintern |
| Ideology | Democratic Socialism |
| Colours | Red |
The Second International (1889–1916), the original Socialist International, was an organization of socialist and labour parties formed in Paris on July 14, 1889. At the Paris meeting delegations from 20 countries participated. It continued the work of the dissolved First International, though excluding the still-powerful anarcho-syndicalist movement and unions, and existed until 1916.
Among the Second International's famous actions were its 1889 declaration of May 1, May Day, as International Workers' Day and its 1910 declaration of the International Women's Day, first celebrated on March 19 and then on March 8 after the main day of the women's marches in 1917 during the Russian Revolution. It initiated the international campaign for the 8-hour working day.
The International's permanent executive and information body was the International Socialist Bureau (ISB), based in Brussels and formed after the International's Paris Congress of 1900. Emile Vandervelde and Camille Huysmans of the Belgian Labour Party were its chair and secretary. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a member from 1905.
The Second International dissolved in 1916 during World War I, because the separate national parties that composed the international did not maintain a unified front against the war, instead generally supporting their respective nations' role. French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) leader Jean Jaurès's assassination, a few days before the beginning of the war, symbolized the failure of the antimilitarist doctrine of the Second International. In 1915, at the Zimmerwald Conference, anti-war socialists attempted to maintain international unity against the social patriotism of the social democratic leaders.
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