The Socialist Party in the Second FDR Administration
Throughout the second FDR administration, the Socialist Party struggled. Its vote for U.S. Senate and U.S. House fell by roughly half in the 1938 midterm elections. Just after the 1938 election, the Socialist Party forged a coalition with the American Labor Party in New York City [NYT 2/12/1939]. In Wisconsin, however, the Socialist Party merged with the Progressive Party and the Farmer Labor Party [NYT 12/1/1939].
A major issue for the party was how to deal with World War II when it began in Europe. Norman Thomas gave a speech in NYC in which he said that President Roosevelt’s foreign policy would result in the destruction of democracy and freedom at home [NYT 2/12/1939]. When Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact, the Socialist Party alliance with the American Labor Party felt its first major challenge. The Socialist Party issued a condemnation of the pact [NYT 8/28/1939], though the ALP had many leaders who supported Stalin’s decision. After Hitler attacked Poland, Thomas issued a pledge to support all efforts to keep the United States out of the war [NYT 9/12/1939]. He later urged President Roosevelt to stop sending munitions to Stalin [NYT 9/25/1939]. The tension between the Socialist Party and the ALP came to a head in early 1940, when the ALP primaries were contested by the two factions - one seeking to push out of Socialists.
Socialist Party National Convention
The 11th Socialist Party National Convention was held in the National Press Club Auditorium in Washington DC on 4/6-8/1940. There were 210 delegates present. The convention assembled on the 23d anniversary of a party gathering to protest American entry into World War I. Speakers on its first day included Aaron Levinstein, who argued against any assistance for belligerent nations in Europe. Lazar Becker of New York argued that the United States should continue to provide nonmilitary aid to help overthrow Hitler.
Maynard C. Krueger, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, gave the keynote speech. He argued that since the two major parties had recognized the failure of capitalism to end the Depression, they were turning to an expansion of the military. Krueger was followed by Travers Clement, the party's national secretary, who reported on the organizational health of the party. Late in the day, the party decided to nominate candidates on the following day; the New York delegation voted against the motion because it wanted to wait until after the ALP made its nomination. [NYT 4/7/1940].
The ticket was chosen on the second day of the convention. During the presidential nomination, D.H.H. Felix of Philadelphia placed in nomination Norman Thomas, saying he had supported labor when "the fires were the hottest and the going the roughest." Thomas made it clear he would only run on an isolationist platform that called for the end of all assistance to European belligerents. The delegates agreed and nominated him unanimously. Harry Fleischman of Illinois placed Maynard C. Krueger in nomination for Vice President; he was also unanimously nominated. Thomas accepted in a speech in which he said he had earlier felt it was time for someone else to run [NYT 4/8/1940].
The platform was adopted on the third day. It called for the nationalization of industries, railroads, and natural resources. The platform maintained that the successful parts of the New Deal had only been passed after the Socialist Party demanded them. It called for all labor organizations to work in harmony rather than against each other.
Later, the convention sent a cable to the Finnish government to commend its activity in resisting Soviet aggression and then re-organized the national committee [NYT 4/9/1940].
The Campaign
Norman Thomas made a 15,000 mile campaign swing through 28 states in the weeks leading up to the election. He challenged Wendell Willkie to a debate unsuccessfully and recruited party members to demonstrate outside of Willkie's headquarters in New York City. [NYT 8/30/1940]. At Buffalo, Thomas declared that the lend-lease program had given Hitler reason to declare war on the United States [NYT 9/5/1940]. In New York city, he called on those opposed to US involvement in Europe to send a strong message by voting for him, the only candidate "heart and soul for peace" [NYT 10/23/1940].
On election day, the Socialist Party suffered another setback, though with some mixed results. Thomas's total of 116,827 was a dramatic drop from his 187,785 vote in 1936. The drop was mostly due to a loss of nearly 70,000 votes in New York and failing to obtain ballot status in AZ, CT, IA, ME, OK, and WV. His numbers actually increased in several states, sometimes dramatically; improvements were shown in CA, CO, ID, IL, KY, MD, MN, MT, ND, WA, and WI. The vote for U.S. Senate and U.S. House candidates fell by half, though nationally these local candidates received far more votes than Thomas (for example, U.S. Senate candidates won 341,100 votes).
10th Socialist Party National Convention [1936]
12th Socialist Party National Convention [1944]
Popular Vote of 1940
Electoral Vote of 1940
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