219:"When Clarence Senior became national secretary in the summer of 1929, he brought to the national office some long-needed vigor. the results were immediate. By the end of 1929 the Socialist Party had gained more members than it had in all the years since 1923. Through the United Socialist Drive it had raised more funds than it had in years, it had revived the flow of Socialist pamphlets which had all but dried up since the war, and it had boosted the circulation of Socialist newspapers....
326:. The Militant majority of the American delegation lent their support to what one historian has called a "quasi-Communist resolution" calling for "workers' democracy" — a position which factional patriarch Norman Thomas did not share. Thomas was placed in a difficult position when this action of his allies was repudiated at a national conference of the SPA held in
277:"Thomas believed that Hillquit acted as a brake on Socialist activity nationally at a time when Thomas's protégé, Clarence Senior, was trying to make the party an effective organization. For these reasons, Thomas was instrumental in arranging for a coalition of all anti-Hillquit elements in an effort to wrest the national chairmanship from him."
224:
fund-raising efforts, sending out 10,000 letters as part of a 1931 campaign called the "Socialism
Forward Drive." These efforts proved to be relatively successful. "The Socialist Party never had enough money to do all it wanted to, but Senior's money-raising enabled it to do more than it had for over a decade," Shannon notes.
183:
queried the young man from
Cleveland: "You've read Comrade Laidler's book, haven't you?" Senior allowed that he had. Harry Laidler continued in the same vein: "You've read Comrade Hillquit's book, haven't you?" Again, Senior responded in the affirmative. "What more do you need to know about socialist
298:
Although the governing NEC of the party was narrowly split between the followers of
Hillquit and Thomas, Clarence Senior was narrowly able to retain his position in 1932 due to the concerted effort of the Thomas group. This phase of the inner-party struggle ended in October 1933, when Hillquit died
166:
When the Spring of 1929, Executive
Secretary of the Socialist Party Henry fell into personal difficulties with his wife, Emma Henry, herself the SPA's State Secretary in Indiana, Executive Secretary Henry abruptly resigned his office. The governing National Executive Committee found themselves in a
223:
Senior established a Social
Problems Lecture Bureau bringing Socialist speakers to paying audiences around the country, promoting the party's cause and bringing in needed funds at the same time. Senior also targeted sympathetic individuals who were not formal members of the Socialist Party in his
239:, many believe the party's growth during the first half of the 1930s was also due to Clarence Senior's energetic leadership. Historian David Shannon called 1930. Senior's first year on the job as Executive Secretary, "the first full year of vigorous leadership for the party since
258:." Senior aligned himself with the younger, more vigorous, and more radical forces and against the "Old Guard." In the summer of 1933 the Militants, with Senior as their ostensible spokesman, sought to remove "official" status from the New York weekly newspaper
17:
372:
landslide in the 1936 election in the face of a full
Socialist campaign was disheartening and amidst the faction fighting and splits, party membership dropped precipitously. By February 1937 less than 6,500 paid members remained in the organization.
178:
for conversations with key party leaders. Senior confessed that he felt inadequate to the task of assuming the position of
National Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party owing to his rather superficial knowledge of socialist theory.
208:. Senior was instrumental in solidifying the party's financial situation through economical operation of the national office and through the successful solicitation of funds from the organization's loyal remaining membership core.
187:
The NEC arbitrarily waived the party's constitutional requirement that the
Executive Secretary be a party member for at least three years and named Senior to the position. The formal nomination of Senior was made by NEC member
195:
The
Socialist Party was in a tenuous position when Senior was finally able to assume his new position in August 1929. The party owed money to its printer and was nearly two years in arrears in the payment of its dues to the
162:
novel depicting the struggle of small-town
Americans for the rudiments of culture. That the Socialist Party could find no one better to run its day-to-day affairs tells almost everything about its decline."
1033:
376:
With the end of Senior's tenure as Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party, his political career essentially drew to a close. A new chapter of his life awaited him in the world of academia.
90:. Senior worked his way through high school and college, performing a variety of jobs, including work as a mechanic, night watchman, truck driver, shipping clerk and working in a soap factory.
1043:
42:, during the inner-party fight of the 1930s, Senior became an active supporter of the so-called "Militant" faction. After resigning his post late in 1936, Senior returned to
269:
Personal antipathy was also intertwined in this factional struggle. Ever since 1928, party presidential candidate Norman Thomas had been at odds with National Chairman
250:
rather than strictly concentrating upon biannual parliamentary campaigns. From about 1930 these new radicals organized themselves into a formal faction known as the "
273:, the best known and most widely respected of the Old Guard leaders. According to one historian, Thomas had played a leading role in an effort to oust Hillquit:
500:"Clarence Senior," short biography, 1930. Socialist Party of the United States of America Records, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI. Box 6, folder 4.
354:
843:
361:
to "recover his health." The retiring Senior was feted at a dinner in his honor at the Cafe Idrott in Chicago on the evening of December 12, 1936.
243:
resigned in the early 1920s." A period of growth followed, with 32 new SPA locals established in 1930, 96 more in 1931, and nearly 600 in 1932.
1038:
357:(SDF). Senior remained in the post of Executive Secretary through the November 1936 election, resigning in December so that he might go to
307:
303:
which had plagued him throughout his life and the balance of power shifted further away from the Old Guard in the Socialist Party.
83:
839:
127:
79:
956:
Part 1: vol. 6, no. 3 (October–November 1937), pp. 10–12. Part 2: vol. 6, no. 4 (January–February 1938), pp. 11–13.
93:
Upon graduation from Kansas, Senior had become associated with the League of Kansas Municipalities before moving to join the
350:
402:
affairs with an emphasis on matters of emigration and the problems of the Puerto Rican working class. Senior was also the
388:(now the University of Missouri-Kansas City) in the Department of Political Science and History. In 1942 he completed his
422:
246:
With the influx of new members came a radicalization of the Socialist Party, with many newcomers professing a belief in
421:
A portion of Clarence Senior's papers, dating from 1924 through 1945, are held in the Social Action Collection of the
94:
1008:
105:
35:
851:
With Carmen Isales. New York: New York Office, Employment and Migration Bureau, Puerto Rico Dept. of Labor, n.d. .
684:
385:
232:
123:
285:
at their head, sought to remove Senior from his post as National Executive Secretary in favor of their own man,
227:
While the Socialist Party received an injection of enthusiasm in the aftermath of the first presidential run of
158:"...provincial, bumbling, half-literate — one of those figures from the Midwest who might have stepped out of a
204:. Party membership was at its nadir, less than 8,000, about half of whom were members of non-English-speaking
289:, who had recently led successful fundraising efforts on behalf of the Milwaukee socialist daily newspaper,
247:
197:
389:
369:
548:
Socialist Party of the United States of America Records, Wisconsin Historical Society, box 1, folder 5.
212:
143:
1028:
1023:
168:
75:
174:
The NEC targeted the 27-year-old college-educated Clarence Senior for the position, bringing him to
108:. Historian Bernard K. Johnpoll indicates that Senior was an acolyte of rising Socialist Party star
557:
205:
306:
In August 1933, Senior was elected one of six delegates of the SPA to a special conference of the
426:
31:
286:
254:," while older, more tradition-bound members also formally organized themselves as a so-called "
407:
255:
211:
Senior also set about building the size of the Socialist Party's membership ranks. Historian
291:
251:
240:
236:
189:
159:
87:
863:
With Josefina de Román. New York: Migration Division, Dept. of Labor of Puerto Rico, 1951.
319:
282:
270:
180:
98:
43:
122:
Senior spent three months in Europe in 1928 studying workers' education on behalf of the
867:
Labor Unions and Spanish-Speaking Workers: Report on Conference held December 20, 1952.
315:
192:
on June 11, 1929, and was approved by a vote of 6 to 2, with 1 abstention, on June 19.
398:
Senior went on to publish a wide range of journal articles and books, specializing on
1017:
342:
228:
175:
109:
39:
16:
346:
323:
300:
116:
113:
909:
Migration as a Process and the Migrant as a Person: Address Made on June 12, 1961.
875:
New York: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Dept. of Labor, Migration Division, n.d. .
399:
365:
263:
201:
151:
131:
51:
403:
314:. Senior was joined by three other members of the Militant faction, including
535:
Interview of Clarence Senior by Harry Fleischman, March 1974. Cited in Howe,
462:"Roy E. Burn, New National Secretary; Ill Health Caused Senior Resignation,"
55:
28:
451:
Pacifist's Progress: Norman Thomas and the Decline of American Socialism.
47:
973:"Patterns of Puerto Rican Dispersion in the Continental United States,"
857:
New York: Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University, 1949.
327:
147:
142:
During the second half of the 1920s, the Socialist Party was headed by
823:
Mexico City: Centro de Estudios Pedagogicos e Hispanoamericanos, 1940.
821:
Democracy Comes to a Cotton Kingdom: The Story of Mexico's La Laguna.
358:
341:
and the organization moved towards a formal split, with James Oneal,
832:
968:
The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,
311:
15:
130:
and was a delegate to the World Youth Peace Congress held in the
38:
during the 1930s. Originally a protégé of presidential candidate
333:
In 1935, the Socialist Party began an official party newspaper,
322:, as well as two supporters of the Old Guard, Hermann Kobbe and
167:
position of needing to find a permanent replacement, appointing
266:— an action which earned the enmity of the slighted moderates.
231:
in November 1928 and gained adherents in the aftermath of the
861:
A Selected Bibliography on Puerto Rico and the Puerto Ricans.
935:
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico: Interamerican University Press, 1972.
869:
New York: Dept. of Labor, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 1953.
785:
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico: Interamerican University Press, 1972.
349:, and the Old Guard leaving the party immediately after the
903:
Strangers — Then neighbors: From Pilgrims to Puerto Ricans.
560:
Early American Marxism website. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
34:
best remembered as the National Executive Secretary of the
855:
Puerto Rican Dispersed Migration: A Pilot Investigation.
112:
even in these early days, representative of the sort of
1034:
Executive Secretaries of the Socialist Party of America
691:
New York: Rand School of Social Science, 1931; pg. 152.
687:, with Marx Lewis at the helm. See: Nathan Fine (ed.),
558:"Socialist Party of America Annual Membership Figures,"
384:
Around 1940, Senior returned to college, attending the
281:
At the same time the Old Guard, with National Chairman
126:. While in Europe, Senior attended a conference of the
980:"Migration and Economic Development in Puerto Rico,"
987:"Race Relations and Labor Supply in Great Britain,"
662:
660:
994:"The Puerto Ricans in New York: A Progress Note,"
966:"Migration and Puerto Rico's Population Problem,"
885:Puerto Rican Migration: Spontaneous and Organized.
513:New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985; pg. 50.
410:, with his book published on that figure in 1972.
20:Clarence O. Senior, 1936 Socialist Party portrait.
984:vol. 28, no. 4 (December 1954), pp. 151–156.
887:Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1955.
879:A Report on Jamaican Migration to Great Britain.
817:New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1939.
759:vol. 2, whole no. 92 (December 19, 1936), pg. 3.
746:vol. 2, whole no. 91 (December 12, 1936), pg. 2.
899:Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1958.
811:Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Housing Council, 1938.
805:Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius Publications, 1931.
915:The Puerto Ricans: Strangers — Then Neighbors.
991:vol. 4, no. 4 (April 1957), pp. 302–312.
977:vol. 2, no. 2 (October 1954), pp. 93–99.
620:
618:
184:theory?" asked Morris Hillquit with a smile.
119:which Thomas sought to bring into the party.
8:
998:vol. 2, no. 2 (Spring 1968), pp. 73–79.
949:vol. 2, no. 4 (Autumn 1933), pp. 20–26.
881:Kingston, Jamaica: Government Printer, 1955.
480:
478:
476:
474:
472:
445:
443:
441:
394:The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad.
929:New York: Selected Academic Readings, 1968.
755:"Burt, Trager Take Posts at Party Office,"
406:of Puerto Rican socialist and labor leader
970:vol. 285 (January 1953), pp. 130–136.
945:"The International Socialist Conference,"
840:Diaspora Project Digital Humanities Center
486:The Socialist Party of America: A History.
171:to fulfill the role on a temporary basis.
1044:University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni
71:Clarence Ollson Senior was born in 1903.
911:Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1961.
679:The fundraising effort on behalf of the
453:Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1970; pg. 60.
959:"Community Health Services in Mexico,"
829:New York: Post War World Council, 1946.
466:, vol. 2, no. 9 (November 1936), pg. 1.
437:
80:Student League for Industrial Democracy
952:"Mexico's Road to Social Revolution,"
844:University of Puerto Rico, RĂo Piedras
834:The Puerto Rican Migrant in St. Croix.
738:
736:
683:was organized under the banner of the
982:The Journal of Educational Sociology,
963:vol. 41, no. 3 (March 1941), pg. 318.
893:London: Fabian Colonial Bureau, 1956.
496:
494:
262:the voice of the Old Guard edited by
7:
849:The Puerto Ricans of New York City.
827:Self-Determination for Puerto Rico.
803:Organizing the World for Socialism.
689:The American Labor Year Book, 1931.
488:New York: Macmillan, 1955; pg. 202.
368:, effective December 15, 1936. The
154:recalled Henry as an inept figure:
933:Santiago Iglesias: Labor Crusader.
783:Santiago Iglesias: Labor Crusader.
146:, a venerable party loyalist from
14:
308:Labor and Socialist International
84:Intercollegiate Socialist Society
82:, the current incarnation of the
961:The American Journal of Nursing,
921:Our Citizens from the Caribbean.
917:Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1965.
836:University of Puerto Rico, 1947.
95:Cleveland Federation of Teachers
996:International Migration Review,
770:The Socialist Party of America,
668:The Socialist Party of America,
626:The Socialist Party of America,
610:The Socialist Party of America,
597:The Socialist Party of America,
584:The Socialist Party of America,
524:The Socialist Party of America,
50:specializing on the affairs of
905:New York: Freedom Books, 1961.
873:Migrants: People not Problems.
571:The Socialist Party of America
418:Clarence Senior died in 1974.
414:Later years, death, and legacy
46:, becoming a widely published
1:
947:American Socialist Quarterly,
923:St. Louis: McGraw-Hill, 1965.
351:May 1936 Cleveland Convention
78:, where he was active in the
423:Wisconsin Historical Society
355:Social Democratic Federation
206:foreign language federations
128:War Resisters' International
27:(1903–1974) was an American
1039:University of Kansas alumni
891:The West Indian in Britain.
809:Facing the Housing Problem.
685:Victor L. Berger Foundation
124:Adult Education Association
104:In 1927, Senior joined the
1060:
1009:Socialist Party of America
927:Toward Cultural Democracy.
897:Land Reform and Democracy.
106:Socialist Party of America
36:Socialist Party of America
386:University of Kansas City
54:and other nations of the
781:Clarence Ollson Senior,
364:Senior was replaced by
248:revolutionary socialism
198:Socialist International
511:Socialism and America.
279:
235:and the coming of the
233:1929 Wall Street Crash
221:
164:
25:Clarence Ollson Senior
21:
815:Mexico in Transition.
537:Socialism in America,
449:Bernard K. Johnpoll,
275:
217:
156:
19:
728:Pacifist's Progress,
715:Pacifist's Progress,
702:Pacifist's Progress,
652:Pacifist's Progress,
639:Pacifist's Progress,
292:The Milwaukee Leader
76:University of Kansas
797:Books and pamphlets
757:The Socialist Call,
744:The Socialist Call,
337:, in opposition to
335:The Socialist Call
32:political activist
22:
954:Socialist Review,
408:Santiago Iglesias
256:Old Guard faction
1051:
989:Social Problems,
975:Social Problems,
786:
779:
773:
766:
760:
753:
747:
740:
731:
724:
718:
711:
705:
698:
692:
677:
671:
664:
655:
648:
642:
635:
629:
622:
613:
606:
600:
593:
587:
580:
574:
567:
561:
555:
549:
546:
540:
533:
527:
520:
514:
507:
501:
498:
489:
482:
467:
464:Socialist Action
460:
454:
447:
237:Great Depression
213:David A. Shannon
190:Victor L. Berger
144:William H. Henry
138:Political career
88:Harry W. Laidler
74:He attended the
1059:
1058:
1054:
1053:
1052:
1050:
1049:
1048:
1014:
1013:
1005:
942:
799:
794:
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741:
734:
725:
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695:
678:
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649:
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636:
632:
623:
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581:
577:
568:
564:
556:
552:
547:
543:
534:
530:
521:
517:
508:
504:
499:
492:
484:David Shannon,
483:
470:
461:
457:
448:
439:
435:
416:
390:Masters' thesis
382:
380:Academic career
339:The New Leader,
320:Maynard Krueger
283:Morris Hillquit
271:Morris Hillquit
260:The New Leader,
181:Morris Hillquit
169:Mabel H. Barnes
140:
99:Cleveland, Ohio
69:
64:
44:graduate school
12:
11:
5:
1057:
1055:
1047:
1046:
1041:
1036:
1031:
1026:
1016:
1015:
1012:
1011:
1004:
1001:
1000:
999:
992:
985:
978:
971:
964:
957:
950:
941:
938:
937:
936:
930:
924:
918:
912:
906:
900:
894:
888:
882:
876:
870:
864:
858:
852:
846:
830:
824:
818:
812:
806:
798:
795:
793:
790:
788:
787:
774:
761:
748:
732:
719:
706:
693:
672:
656:
643:
630:
614:
601:
588:
575:
562:
550:
541:
528:
515:
502:
490:
468:
455:
436:
434:
431:
415:
412:
381:
378:
330:in June 1934.
318:and Professor
316:Paul Blanshard
139:
136:
68:
65:
63:
60:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1056:
1045:
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1019:
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986:
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979:
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951:
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791:
784:
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771:
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749:
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739:
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733:
729:
723:
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566:
563:
559:
554:
551:
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542:
538:
532:
529:
525:
519:
516:
512:
509:Irving Howe,
506:
503:
497:
495:
491:
487:
481:
479:
477:
475:
473:
469:
465:
459:
456:
452:
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396:
395:
391:
387:
379:
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371:
367:
362:
360:
356:
352:
348:
344:
343:Louis Waldman
340:
336:
331:
329:
325:
321:
317:
313:
309:
304:
302:
296:
295:
293:
288:
284:
278:
274:
272:
267:
265:
261:
257:
253:
249:
244:
242:
238:
234:
230:
229:Norman Thomas
225:
220:
216:
214:
209:
207:
203:
199:
193:
191:
185:
182:
177:
176:New York City
172:
170:
163:
161:
155:
153:
149:
145:
137:
135:
133:
129:
125:
120:
118:
117:intellectuals
115:
111:
110:Norman Thomas
107:
102:
100:
96:
91:
89:
85:
81:
77:
72:
66:
61:
59:
57:
53:
49:
45:
41:
40:Norman Thomas
37:
33:
30:
26:
18:
995:
988:
981:
974:
967:
960:
953:
946:
932:
926:
920:
914:
908:
902:
896:
890:
884:
878:
872:
866:
860:
854:
848:
833:
826:
820:
814:
808:
802:
782:
777:
769:
764:
756:
751:
743:
727:
722:
717:pp. 116-117.
714:
709:
701:
696:
688:
680:
675:
667:
651:
646:
638:
633:
625:
612:pp. 208-209.
609:
604:
596:
591:
586:pp. 207-208.
583:
578:
570:
565:
553:
544:
536:
531:
523:
518:
510:
505:
485:
463:
458:
450:
420:
417:
400:Puerto Rican
397:
393:
383:
375:
363:
353:to form the
347:Algernon Lee
338:
334:
332:
324:Jacob Panken
305:
301:tuberculosis
297:
290:
280:
276:
268:
259:
245:
226:
222:
218:
210:
194:
186:
173:
165:
157:
150:. Historian
141:
121:
114:middle class
103:
92:
73:
70:
24:
23:
1029:1974 deaths
1024:1903 births
742:"Retires,"
392:, entitled
366:Roy E. Burt
264:James Oneal
241:Branstetter
202:Switzerland
152:Irving Howe
132:Netherlands
67:Early years
52:Puerto Rico
1018:Categories
726:Johnpoll,
713:Johnpoll,
700:Johnpoll,
650:Johnpoll,
637:Johnpoll,
573:, pg. 207.
404:biographer
287:Marx Lewis
215:recalled:
86:headed by
838:from the
768:Shannon,
666:Shannon,
624:Shannon,
608:Shannon,
595:Shannon,
582:Shannon,
569:Shannon,
522:Shannon,
433:Footnotes
370:Roosevelt
299:from the
252:Militants
62:Biography
56:Caribbean
29:socialist
1003:See also
940:Articles
772:pg. 249.
730:pg. 117.
704:pg. 116.
670:pg. 237.
628:pg. 224.
599:pg. 208.
526:pg. 201.
310:held in
48:academic
842:at the
654:pg. 92.
641:pg. 88.
539:pg. 50.
427:Madison
328:Detroit
160:Dreiser
148:Indiana
681:Leader
359:Mexico
792:Works
312:Paris
425:at
200:in
97:in
1020::
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