John J. Ballam

John J. "Johnny" Ballam (1882–1954) was an American Marxist political activist and trade union organizer. He is best remembered as a founding member and one of the pioneer leaders of the Communist Party of America and as a leader of the Trade Union Unity League in the textile industry during the 1930s.

John J. Ballam was born June 9, 1882.

Ballam was a member of the Socialist Labor Party of America from 1898 to 1902.

In 1905, Ballam joined the fledgling Industrial Workers of the World, remaining a member of that organization through 1912.

In 1912, Ballam joined the Socialist Party of America (SPA). He remained a member of the Socialist Party through the 1919 split of the organization.

On June 10, 1918, Ballam was sentenced in Boston to 1 year in jail under the Espionage Act for a speech he delivered against American participation in the first World War. Ballam served time at the Plymouth County Jail until his release on about April 1, 1919.

In 1919, Ballam was a member of the Left Wing National Council, the New York-based group which was the embryo responsible for establishing the Communist Party of America (CPA) that same summer.

Ballam was a delegate to the founding convention of the CPA, held in Chicago the first week of September 1919. He was elected vice chairman by the convention but resigned in protest after just one day in response to internecine factional fighting that dominated the proceedings.

Following the conclusion of the founding convention of the CPA, Ballam edited the biweekly newspaper The New England Worker, published by the new organization.

Ballam was arrested by the United States Department of Justice in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 2, 1919. He was returned to Massachusetts to face charges of having violated the Massachusetts Anti-Anarchy Act, which he did in January 1920.

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