Socialist Party of Minnesota

The Socialist Party of Minnesota (from 1899 to 1902 the Social Democratic Party of Minnesota; from 1903 to 1913 the Public Ownership Party of Minnesota) was the state affiliate of the Springfield faction of the Social Democratic Party of America, the Socialist Party of America, and finally the Socialist Party USA in the U.S. state of Minnesota.

History The state organization was established in 1899, when the Kangaroo faction bolted from the Socialist Labor Party of America in support of the American Federation of Labor and opposition to the internal regime of the SLP under Daniel DeLeon. Its initial electoral appearances were unimpressive, but it began to grow rapidly after 1905, and eventually became, together with the organizations in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Oregon, North Dakota, Washington, New York, etc., one of the Socialist Party's stronger state organizations—even to the point where, in 1912, half of all of the counties carried by Eugene V. Debs were in Minnesota. But, in spite—or perhaps because—of its rapid growth, the Socialist Party of Minnesota soon also became a heavily contested battlefield for factional disputes within the SPA. This culminated in the period of 1914 though 1919, in which the Socialist Party of Minnesota was decimated by conflicts rooted first in differences of opinion regarding the United States' entry into World War I, and later disagreements over the Bolshevism question following the Russian Revolution. In addition to tearing itself apart, the party was also affected by shifts in public opinion during the First Red Scare, which made it increasingly difficult for the Socialist Party to access an audience.

The Socialist Party of Minnesota continued to exist after 1920, but in a severely weakened state. Many of its former members, such as William Mahoney, Thomas E. Latimer, and Thomas Van Lear, became active in the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota, which the former Van Lear faction of the Socialist Party helped to solidify after Van Lear was expelled from the Socialist Party. The Socialist Party of Minnesota itself participated in the Farmer-Labor Party's electoral coalition in state politics from the early 1920s into the mid 1930s. Meanwhile, the state organization continued to achieve ballot access for Norman Thomas in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, and 1948, although it was not able to secure ballot access for Darlington Hoopes in 1952 and 1956.

The Minnesota organization continued to send delegates to the national conventions of the Socialist Party through the 1960s, until the Social Democrats, USA were formed in 1972. Afterward, the Socialist Party of Minnesota reorganized as a part of the Socialist Party USA, sending delegates to the SPUSA's reorganizing convention in 1973. As a unit of the SPUSA, the Socialist Party of Minnesota was able to secure presidential ballot access in Minnesota for Frank Zeidler in 1976 and again for David McReynolds in 1980; however, the organization essentially disappeared at some point prior to 1988.

Nominees for public office

Presidential tickets Year Results Candidates Ref. Notes Votes % for President for Vice President 1900 3,065 0.97 Eugene V. Debs (IN) Job Harriman (CA) 1904 11,692 3.99 Benjamin Hanford (NY) 1908 14,527 4.38 1912 27,505 8.23 Emil Seidel (WI) 1916 20,117 5.19 Allan L. Benson (NY) George Ross Kirkpatrick (NJ) 1920 56,106 7.62 Eugene V. Debs (IN) Seymour Stedman (IL) 1924 339,192 41.26 Robert M. La Follette (WI) Burton K. Wheeler (MT) 1928 6,774 0.70 Norman Thomas (NY) James H. Maurer (PA) 1932 25,476 2.54 1936 2,872 0.25 George A. Nelson (WI) 1940 5,454 0.44 Maynard C. Krueger (IL) 1944 5,073 0.45 Darlington Hoopes (PA) 1948 4,646 0.38 Tucker P. Smith (MI) 1976 354 0.02 Frank Zeidler (WI) J. Quinn Brisben (IL) 1980 536 0.03 David McReynolds (NY) Diane Drufenbrock (IN)

Congressional nominees

Senate Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1934 5,616 0.56 Morris Kaplan

2nd district Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1910 556 2.01 D. A. Thayer 1912 1,479 5.05 John R. Hollister 1914 1,326 3.88

4th district Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1906 1,544 5.14 Adolph Lando 1908 1,784 4.96 Ernest W. Woodrich 1910 1,953 5.87 Charles H. Stratton 1912 6,021 14.32 Albert Rosenquist 1914 2,221 7.21 William Mahoney 1916 1,854 4.83 Hermon W. Phillips 1919 424 1.55 C. R. Carlgren

5th district Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1900 725 1.74 Adolph Hirshfield 1902 215 0.56 Spencer M. Holman 1904 3,184 7.44 Adolph Hirshfield 1906 1,386 3.24 Charles Fremont Dight 1908 1,816 4.56 1910 2,323 6.66 Frederick F. Lindsay 1912 6,929 17.17 Thomas E. Latimer 1914 10,312 33.34 Thomas Van Lear 1916 7,526 16.69 Thomas E. Latimer 1934 317 0.27 George Riedel

6th district Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1912 2,839 8.34 A. W. Uhl 1914 3,769 11.64 Otto M. Thomason

8th district Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1902 538 2.24 Vincent C. Koneczny 1904 314 1.08 J. Adam O'Malley 1906 6,025 24.43 George F. Peterson 1908 6,298 18.43 Alexander Halliday 1910 4,354 13.74 O. S. Watkins 1912 7,398 18.31 Morris Kaplan 1914 4,179 14.89 William E. Towne 1916 9,034 26.25 Juls J. Anderson

9th district Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1906 5,490 19.87 Haldor Erickson Boen 1908 2,985 8.30 T. T. Braaten 1910 8,421 25.52 David Sanders 1912 11,190 33.28 Michael A. Brattland 1914 7,489 23.65 1916 4,347 11.41 T. A. Thompson

10th district Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1916 3,782 8.64 John G. Soltis

At-large district Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1912 30,042 10.73 James S. Ingalls

Nominees for state executive offices

Governor Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1900 3,546 1.13 Thomas H. Lucas 1902 2,521 0.93 Jay E. Nash 1904 5,810 1.91 1906 4,646 1.68 O. E. Lofthus 1908 6,516 1.94 Beecher Moore 1910 11,173 3.79 George E. Barrett 1912 25,769 8.09 David Morgan 1914 17,225 5.02 Thomas J. Lewis 1916 26,306 6.73 Jacob O. Bentall 1918 7,794 2.11 L. P. Berot 1920 5,124 0.65 Peter J. Sampson

Lieutenant Governor Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1902 5,143 1.95 Michael A. Brattland 1904 8,657 3.02 O. E. Lofthus 1910 18,363 6.64 Lewis M. Ayer 1912 31,479 10.73 D. M. Robertson 1914 28,649 8.86 Andrew Hanson 1916 33,628 8.93 1920 10,629 1.41 Lillian Friedman

Secretary of State Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1902 5,303 2.01 Bertram F. Morledge 1904 10,235 3.57 J. Ed Carlson 1908 10,939 3.64 John LaFevre 1910 17,369 6.25 Torkel Hoiland 1912 32,602 10.90 John Alvin Johnson 1920 18,965 2.58 J. H. Hirt 1936 3,722 0.34 Vincent R. Dunne

State Auditor Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1902 10,129 3.91 J. Ed Carlson 1914 30,291 9.55 T. A. Thompson

State Treasurer Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1906 11,291 4.42 John Kolu 1908 12,404 4.16 1912 36,424 12.65 Jay E. Nash 1914 28,486 8.96 1920 22,454 3.07 P. H. Phelps

Attorney General Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1908 12,661 4.27 A. W. Uhl

Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner Year Results Candidate Ref. Notes Votes % 1920 23,900 3.32 Tom May

Officeholders

State senators

Andrew Olaf Devold of Minneapolis, District 32 (1919–39) Michael Boylan of Virginia, District 61 (1919–27)

George H. Gardner of Brainerd, District 53 (1915–19) Richard Jones of Duluth, District 58 (1915–19)

State representatives

John H. Boyd of Crookston, District 66 (1915–17; 1919–21) Andrew Olaf Devold of Minneapolis, District 32 (1915–19) Nels S. Hillman of Two Harbors, District 51 (1911–15)

Ernest G. Strand of Two Harbors, District 57 (1917–23) James W. Woodfill of Two Harbors, District 57 (1915–17)

Mayors

Michael Boylan, Mayor of Virginia (1914–18) J. C. Dahl, Mayor of St. Hilaire (1911–13) William Jackson, Mayor of Dawson (1919–24) H. L. Larson, Mayor of Crookston (1912–14) Fred Mahlzan, Mayor of Bemidji (1912–14)

Adolf Evensen Ousdahl, Mayor of Brainerd (1909–11; 1913–15) Ernest G. Strand, Mayor of Two Harbors (1916–17) James Sturdevant, Mayor of Tenstrike (1911–13) Thomas Van Lear, Mayor of Minneapolis (1917–19)

Aldermen/City Councilors

Brainerd A. G. Anderson (1911–13) N. W. Olsen (1911–13) R. A. Rennings (1911–13)

Cloquet Frank Yetka (1911–19)

Duluth P. J. Phillips (1912–14)

Minneapolis Albert Bastis (1915–47) Lewis Beneke (1921–25) Charles Fremont Dight (1915–19) A. R. Gisslen (1919–39) Theodore Jenson (1917–25) Charles Johnson (1913–17) Peter J. Pryts (1919–27) Charles Rudsdil (1919–27) Irving G. Scott (1919–27; 1931–37) Alfred Voelker (1913–25)

Two Harbors Ernest G. Strand (1911–16; City Council President 1914–16)

Virginia Michael Boylan (1908–14)

Other officeholders

Isaac Biteman, Swanville City Assessor (1912–14) Charles M. Floathe, Lake County Register of Deeds (1905–07) John Pearson, Lake County Coroner (1905–07)

W. A. Swanstrom, St. Louis County Commissioner (1917–19) Theodore Welte, Clearwater County Commissioner (1912–14)

Other prominent members Clarence Hathaway, labor activist; prominent in the Left wing section, Hathaway was certified by State Secretary Dirba as a delegate to the 1919 Emergency National Convention, but became a founding member of the Communist Labor Party of America when the Regulars refused to seat him; later served as an advisory delegate of the Workers Party of America to the Comintern, and eventually a long-time member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party USA Algernon Lee, politician, journalist and educator; prominent member of the Kangaroo faction of the SLP, editor of The Tocsin, and one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party of Minnesota; moved to New York City shortly thereafter, running for numerous public offices there Anna A. Maley, political activist, journalist and educator; inaugural Secretary of Local Minneapolis; later went on to run for the office of Governor of Washington (becoming the first woman ever to run in a gubernatorial election in Washington), hold office as Chairwoman of the Woman's National Committee, become just the third woman ever to hold a seat on the National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of America, and serve as an assistant to Minneapolis Mayor Thomas Van Lear Yrjö Sirola, Finnish expatriate; served as Finnish Socialist Federation's Work People's College in Smithville from 1910 to 1913; antagonized factional disputes in the Finnish Socialist Federation, which tended to spill over into the Party itself; later returned to Finland where he was a founding member of the Communist Party of Finland Carl Skoglund, who was prominent in the Left Section, a founding member of the Communist Party, embraced the views of Leon Trotsky, returned to the SPA after the Trotskyists were driven out of the Communist Party, and eventually became a founding member of the Socialist Workers Party

State Secretaries (incomplete) ?–1904: Spencer M. Holman 1904–1912: Jay E. Nash 1912–1914: Thomas E. Latimer 1914–1915: Fred Miller 1915–1919: Abraham L. Sugarman 1919: Charles Dirba 1919–?: Samuel L. Friedman ?–?: Lillian Friedman

See also Social Democratic Party of America Social-Democratic Party of Wisconsin Socialist Party of America Socialist Party USA Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party National Party (United States) Communist Party USA Communist Party of America Communist Labor Party of America Workers Party of America

Notes

References