Language Federations were formed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century by immigrants to the United States, primarily from Eastern and Southern Europe, who shared a commitment to some form of socialist politics. Some of these groups joined the Socialist Labor Party; later, many joined the Socialist Party and then later joined one of the precursors of the Communist Party; a number of federations also remained in the Socialist Party. The Russian and Finnish federations were particularly important in the early years of the Communist Party. Eastern Europe is, by convention, that part of Europe from the Ural and Caucasus mountains in the East to an arbitrarily chosen boundary in the West. ... Southern Europe is a region of Europe. ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... The Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP) is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. ... The Socialist Party of America is a socialist political party in the United States. ... The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is one of several Marxist_Leninist groups in the United States. ...

The Language Federations also served as an important cultural resource for immigrants, allowing them to maintain contact with political developments in their homelands and providing a gathering place for strangers in a strange land. Many groups had their own halls for dances and social gatherings which still exist, in name if not in function, in America's largest cities of the East and West Coasts and Midwest. The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... The East Coast (also known as the Eastern Seaboard) is a term referencing the easternmost coastal states in the United States of America. ... See: West Coast of the United States West Coast, New Zealand West Coast, Tasmania This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Midwest States (United States of America, ND to OH) The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ...

Each Language Federation arose at different times, as members of those national, ethnic or religious groups arrived in the United States. In addition, they typically sprung up at the grassroots level, affiliating with other local groups to form national federations before attaching themselves to political parties. They often resisted attempts by the parties to which they were affiliated to bring them into line with the aims or platform of the group as a whole; indeed, at some points the various Language Federations made up such a large portion of socialist groups as to make top-down dictation of a uniform policy very difficult.

The SPUSA had a vexed relation with Language Federations: while it began recognizing them in the first decade of the twentieth century and incorporating them within the party in the decade that followed, the party had often veered in the direction of nativism, particularly in the case of exclusion of Asian workers, but also directed against Eastern and Southern European immigrants. The SPUSA often appeared as if it did not know what to make of these foreign-language organizations and let them develop more or less independently. Even so, they grew exponentially during World War I and made up roughly half the SPUSA by 1918. The term Nativism is used in both politics and psychology in two fundamentally different ways. ... Missing image Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

The Executive Committee of the SPUSA formally expelled seven of these Language Federations in May, 1919 when it became clear that they favored the left wing in the impending split within the party. The expelled federations formed the bulk of the membership of the new Communist Party of America led by Charles Ruthenberg and Louis Fraina; the Communist Labor Party, created later, appealed more to American-born workers. Not all federations aligned with Ruthenburg, however, in the factional infighting within the CPUSA in the years that followed: the German and Yiddish language federations, for example, were identified with the more conservative faction led by Ludwig Lore until he was expelled from the party. Charles Ruthenberg (July 14, 1884 – 1927) became famous for founding the Communist Party in the USA. Ruthenberg was born in New York City, New York, the son of an immigrant from Russia who was a prosperous garment merchant. ...

The CPUSA, then named the Workers Party, tried in 1924 to disband the federations and reorganize the party on the cell structure that the Bolsheviks had employed, on directives from the Comintern. The party met with resistance, however, particularly from the Finnish Federation, whose members feared losing what influence they had if they were submerged within a larger English-speaking organization. While the party succeeded in "Bolshevizing" the federations, it may have lost fifty percent or more of these members in the process. 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The first edition of Communist International, journal of the Comintern published in Moscow and Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) in May 1919. ...

Although the SPUSA went into decline in the 1920s, it still drew a large part of its base from the foreign-born in these years. The old Language Federations within the SPUSA nearly all disappeared, however, by the early 1930s. Sometimes referred to as the Roaring Twenties. Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy Gun. ... Events and trends Technology Jet engine invented First atom was split with a particle accelerator Golden Age of radio begins in U.S. Science Nuclear fission discovered by Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann Pluto, the ninth planet from the Sun, is discovered by Clyde Tombaugh British biologist Arthur...

The following groups formed the most significant Language Federations:

Finnish Federations

Arising first in Boston, Massachusetts and Minnesota as benevolent organizations, the federation affiliated with the SPUSA around 1907. During its affiliation with the SPUSA it established its own Workers' College in Minnesota, published three newspapers, and divided the federation into three regional districts, with differing political outlooks. A power struggle soon ensued, with the national SPUSA intervening on the side of the conservative Eastern District. The Western and Central District branches were barred from establishing a rival federation, but Central District militants succeeded in taking control of the Workers College. Boston is the capital of and the largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. ... State nickname: North Star State Other U.S. States Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Governor Tim Pawlenty Official languages None Area 225,365 km² (12th)  - Land 206,375 km²  - Water 18,990 km² (8. ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1919 the Federation split: a large number of Finnish members joined the CPUSA, representing nearly half of the members of the party at one point in the 1920s and maintaining a separate organizational presence within it, in the form of Finnish Workers' Clubs, until 1941. The Finnish Federation remained the largest foreign language federation within the SPUSA throughout the 1920s. 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

German Federations

German-speaking socialists made up so much of the early socialist groups that no steps were taken to organize a separate German language grouping either outside or within the SPUSA until 1912. That group drew heavily on organizations in New York and New Jersey. Those chapters split to join the CPUSA in 1919. 1912 is a leap year starting on Monday. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... State nickname: The Garden State Other U.S. States Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Governor Richard Codey (acting) Official languages None defined Area 22,608 km² (47th)  - Land 19,231 km²  - Water 3,378 km² (14. ...

Hungarian Federations

Hungarian language political groups first appeared in the 1890s and affiliated with both the SLP and the SPUSA in the following decade. Some federations affiliated with the SLP later migrated to the Industrial Workers of the World. Most ended up with the SPUSA; relatively few left to join the CPUSA. The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the Gay Nineties, under the then-current usage of the word gay which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no connotation of homosexuality as in current-day usage. ... The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It contends that all workers should be united within a single union as a class and the profit system abolished. ...

Italian Federations

A socialist Italian language federation was formed as part of the SLP in 1902, but split from it the following year. The majority of the federation's members were syndicalist and remained unaligned with either party, while a minority affiliated with the SPUSA in 1910. Most of those members remained with the SPUSA in 1919, although the New York City branch joined the CPUSA. There were apparently never enough Italian-speaking members within the CPUSA to constitute a separate Federation. Italian-speaking garment workers in New York City also maintained their own locals within the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, both when they were aligned with the SPUSA and under Communist leadership in the 1920s. 1902 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Syndicalism is a political and economic ideology which advocates giving control of both industry and government to labor union federations. ... 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... The International Ladies Garment Workers Union, once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membership, and a key player in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s, merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile... Sometimes referred to as the Roaring Twenties. Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy Gun. ...

Jewish Federations

While Jewish workers of various nationalities also took part in those federations, Jewish workers also formed groups known as Arbeiterrings ("Workmen's Circles") in major cities in the late 1800s. More formal parties, however, tended to fragment, both on ideological grounds and on the distinction between newly arrived "greenhorns" with Bundist politics and the more assimilated immigrants from earlier decades. The Bundist tendency eventually prevailed after thousands of Jewish socialists fled Poland and Russian in the aftermath of the failed 1905 Revolution. The Jewish Federation within the SPUSA–not fomally established until 1912–grew rapidly, publishing its own weekly newspaper. It split in 1919, with significant numbers of members remaining with the SPUSA. A Bundist demonstration, 1917 The General Jewish Labour Union of Lithuania, Poland and Russia, in Yiddish the Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund in Lite, Poyln un Rusland (אלגמײנער ײדישער ארבײטרסבונד אין רוסלנד, ליטא אונד פוילן), generally called The Bund (בונד), was a Jewish political party operating in several European countries between... (Redirected from 1905 Revolution) The Russian Revolution of 1905 was a country-wide spasm of anti-government and undirected violence. ... 1912 is a leap year starting on Monday. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Latvian Federation

The Latvian Federation within the CPUSA, with a high proportion of forestry workers, was the third largest within the party in 1921. 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Lithuanian Federation

The Lithuanian Socialist Federation, founded in 1905, grew rapidly with an influx of members who had come to the United States to escape repression after the 1905 Revolution. The organization suffered splits, however, when anarchist and more strictly nationalist elements left and lost nearly half its members when it affiliated with the SPUSA in 1914. It published a number of weekly newspapers and a monthly journal while affiliated with the SPUSA. THe SPUSA suspended the Federation in 1919, when a large number of members left for the CPUSA, where the Lithuanian Federation was one of the largest constituents. 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Polish Federations

The Alliance of Polish Socialists in America was formed as an emigre group, dedicated to making revolution in Poland, rather than the United States. It merged with the Polish Section of the Socialist Party in 1913. It published a daily newspaper in Chicago and two weekly newspapers. It formally disaffiliated from the SPUSA in 1916, although a minority remained with the party. A few hundred members joined the CPUSA. 1913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ...

Russian Federations

A formal Russian Federation within the SPUSA was not created until 1917. It claimed more than 5,000 members in 1919, and largely went over to the CPUSA that year. It lost a number of members to deportation in the Palmer Raids that followed. 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Palmer Raids were a number of attacks on Socialists and Communists in the United States from 1918 to 1921. ...

Scandinavian Federations

The SLP had an early Danish affiliate, although this organization appears to have disappeared in factional infighting in 1899. The SLP continued to publish in Swedish as late as the 1920s. Much of the SPUSA's Scandinavian Federation went over to the CPUSA in 1919. 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Sometimes referred to as the Roaring Twenties. Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy Gun. ...

Slovak Federation

The Slovak Socialist Federation, founded in Chicago in 1904, remained an autonomous organization until 1913, when it affiliated with the SPUSA. It continued to grow after affiliation, publishing several newspapers and maintaining more than twenty chapters. Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

South Slavic Federation

This federation, which consisted mostly of Croat and Slovenian members, affiliated with the SPUSA in 1910. The Slovenian members generally remained with the SPUSA after the split, while many Croat members went over to the CPUSA. 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

External sources

"The Finns and the Crisis Over 'Bolshevization' in the Worker's Party, 1924-25" (http://www.genealogia.fi/emi/art/article265e.htm) by Auvo Kostiainen

"For White Men Only: The Socialist Party of America and Issues of Gender, Ethnicity and Race" (http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jga/2.3/miller.html) by Sally M. Miller

"Foreign Language Federations (1890s–1930)" (http://www.marxistsfr.cjb.net/subject/usa/eam/languagefeds.html)