Washington History • Political History

Communism in Washington State

A Brief History of the Communist Party in Washington State 1919-2002.

Historical background and timeline of the Communist Party in Washington State.

Communism made a larger impact on Washington than almost any other state. “There are forty-seven states in the Union, and the Soviet of Washington,” Postmaster General James Farley joked in 1936. The remark, for all its exaggeration, had some foundation.

The Communist movement, founded in 1919, caught on quickly in the Pacific Northwest, picking up members from the fading Industrial Workers of the World and Socialist Party. In the 1930s the CP played key roles in the strikes and campaigns that built some of the region’s most powerful unions and used that base to influence other institutions. The Washington Commonwealth Federation, the Washington Pension Union and to some extent the state’s Democratic party organization responded to these popular front initiatives. Running as Democrats, Communists won some important public offices, including a seat in Congress.

During the Cold War the issue of Communism and the prominent role of the Party in the affairs of Washington state became a powerful weapon for conservatives. The state’s Red Scare began in 1947 and party members were soon driven out of most positions of influence. The purges took a heavy toll in jobs lost, families broken up, and organizations destroyed. Yet the CP survived the hard years and revived slightly in the 1960s. Although faced with the problem of aging members and declining numbers, the Party remained active through the end of the 20th century, working mostly in quiet ways with various movements and projects involving labor, race, gender, and other social justice issues.

A Brief History of the Communist Party in Washington State 1919-2002

Here in nine chapters is the decade by decade story of the CP in one of the states where the party made its greatest impact. For a quick overview start with the timeline created by Marian Spath and Gordon Black. Then read the rest sequentially as chronological chapters or skip around.

History of the Communist Party of Washington State: Introduction by James Gregory An overview of the history of the Communist movement in Washington State, this essay introduces the nine chapter narrative history of Communism in Washington State.

Ch2: Rough Beginnings - The 1920s by Daeha Ko Founded in 1919, the Party faced severe repression and locked itself in sectarian battles with other left and labor groups during its first decade.

Ch3: Organizing the Unemployed - The Early 1930s by Gordon Black The Depression brought challenges and opportunities. In the early 1930s the Party attracted new members after it launched the Unemployed Councils and waged militant battles for relief assistance for the homeless and unemployed.

Ch4: Organizing Unions - The 1930s and 1940s by Brian Grijalva Turning to union organizing in 1933, the CP played a role in the successful campaigns to build unions of longshore workers, timber workers, and others.

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Ch5: The Washington Commonwealth Federation and Washington Pension Union by Jennifer Phipps The WCF endorsed candidates in primary races and served for a decade as the left wing of the Democratic Party. At first excluded from the WCF, CP activists moved into leadership roles after 1936 and saw the organization as one of its most successful popular front operations.

Ch6: Race and Civil Rights - The 1930s and 1940s by Shelley Pinckney The CP was one of the first left groups to take up the issue of racism and civil rights in Washington State. During the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, the CP promoted union desegregation, public education about racial injustices, and legal support for civil rights activities.

Ch7: War and Red Scare - 1940-1960 by Stephanie Curwick From the Hitler-Stalin pact to the Soviet-U.S alliance of World War II to the Cold War Red Scare, shifting international alliances meant dramatic changes for those who supported Communism. The Red Scare devastated the Party and affiliated movements. Some members went to jail, some underground.

Ch8: A Partial Revival - The 1960s by Paul Landis Fighting the laws and rules that kept Communists and former Communists from various jobs and that limited free speech on campuses and elsewhere, the Party made a modest comeback in the 1960s, participating in the antiwar movement and civil rights campaigns.

Ch9: Closing the Century - 1970-2002 by Marian Spath Still a presence in 2002, the Washington State Communist Party is maintained by a small and aging cadre of dedicated members who are also active in a variety of labor and social justice causes.

Timeline

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1917

Vladimir Lenin, architect of the 1917 Russian Bolshevik Revolution

The Bolsheviks unite with Soviets established in various Russian cities to take control of the government in the October Revolution. Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin are architects of the revolution. The Second All-Russia Congress of Soviets leads to the creation of the Russian Federated Soviet Socialist Republic. A peace settlement is reached with Germany.

United States enters the war.

First “Red Scare” in the US; radicals, socialists and IWW members are targeted in raids.

1918

Armistice in the Great War.

1919

February: The first city-wide strike to occur in the United States begins: the Seattle General Strike.

March: First Communist International (Comitern), composed of Communists and radical socialists from around the world, including the United States, meets in Moscow. In the United States, socialists aligning with the Comiterns pledge allegiance to the revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist system, break from the Socialist Party of Eugene Debs to form the Communist Party of America and the Communist Labor Party, which later merge.

November: An IWW hall is attacked by military veterans during an Armistice Day parade in Centralia. Five veterans are killed by gunfire; a mob breaks into the city jail and pulls out the perceived IWW leader, who was hanged, shot and mutilated. The state of Washington passes a law banning the IWW. In a subsequent trial, seven Wobblies are convicted of murder.

1920

Continued persecution of Communists and “reds,” including the IWW.

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1921

Comintern pressures rival communist parties to unite, form Workers Party

1922

Workers Party exerts influence on political coalitions, labor councils

1923

Lenin dies

AFL orders Seattle Central Labor Council to follow union governance by eliminating Communist issues

1924

The Ku Klux Klan stages massive rally in Issaquah on July 26, attended by an estimated crowd of 13,000.

Joseph Stalin adopts the principle of socialism in one country, a departure from the doctrine of the earlier Internationals.

1925

Seattle Central Labor Council completes expulsion of Communist members

1928

Washington courts rule that Workers Party candidates may appear on ballot

Sixth World Conference of Communist Parties calls for period of revolutionary action

1929

Stock market crashes.

CPUSA launches Trade Union Unity League

1930

CPUSA launches Unemployed Councils, calls for unemployment insurance, seven-hour day, and recognition of Soviet Union.

1931

Unemployed Council forms in Seattle

Socialists form rival Unemployed Citizens League

Scottsboro Boys verdict

The Vanguard begins publication

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1932

March of unemployment groups on Olympia ends in scuffles between rival organizations

1933

Washington state unemployment peaks at more than 25 percent

Cannery and Agricultural Workers’ Industrial Union forms

Voice of Action begins publishing

CP defends Ted Jordan in race-linked murder trial in Portland, Oregon

1934

West Coast waterfront strike leads to police violence against strikers in San Francisco and Seattle

Revels Cayton starts Seattle chapter of League for Struggle for Negro Rights, runs for Seattle City Council

1935

Washington Commonwealth Federation forms

Local 751 of International Association of Machinists forms

Local 401 of American Federation of Teachers forms on UW campus

Seventh World Congress of Communist Parties advocates popular front alliances

1936

Terry Pettus organizes chapter of American Newspaper Guild

Guild strikes Seattle Post-Intelligencer

International Woodworkers of America created to encompass many lumber industry unions

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1937

Harry Bridges leads west-coast longshoremen into CIO. Union renamed International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s

Washington Pension Union forms

1939

Communist Party membership peaks at close to 100,000 nationwide, about 3,000 in District 12

Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact

State Representative Underwood requests investigation of “communist activities” at UW

1940

Smith Act makes it a crime to advocate the overthrow of the US government

1945

Washington Commonwealth Federation disbanded

1946

John Daschbach founds Washington Civil Rights Congress

1947

The state’s Joint Legislative Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities is set up to investigate the influence and presence of Communists in state politics.

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1949

Officers of Cannery Workers’ and Farm Laborers’ Union arrested as Communists, scheduled for deportation

Three UW professors dismissed for Communist ties

1950

Cannery Workers’ and Farm Laborers’ Union affiliates with International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union

Congress passes McCarran-Walter Internal Security Act to monitor Communists

In landmark case, US Supreme Court rules that Cannery Union officers cannot be deported.

1952

Seven union and civil rights activists in Seattle are charged with conspiracy for attending Communist Party meetings under the Smith Act. The seven include established leaders of the Communist Party in Washington - Henry Huff, John Daschbach, William Pennock, Paul Bowen, Karly Larsen, Terry Pettus and Barbara Hartle.

Barbara Hartle, late of Seattle Seven, becomes FBI informant

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1955

Disgruntled party activist Eugene Dennett testifies against Party

1962

UW professor fired for not signing loyalty oath

Gus Hall prohibited from speaking on UW campus

1963

Washington Pension Union officially declared dissolved

Eugene Roebel arrested and fired from shipyard job in McCarran Act case

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1964

Subversive Activities Control Board investigates Washington Committee for Protection of Foreign Born

George Wallace allowed to speak on UW campus

UW students successfully demand abolition of ban on Communists speaking on campus

Henry Winston, national Communist Party leader, permitted to speak at UW

Milford Sutherland runs for Washington State governorship.

1965

Washington Communist Party engages in campaigns on behalf of Native Americans, Seattle Women for Peace, Central District

1969

Angela Davis fired from UCLA professorship

1974

People before Profits Center opens in Seattle

1979

B.J. Mangaoang becames chair of state Communist Party

1980

Marion Kinney runs for State Legislature as a Communist

1984

Kistler runs for State Legislature

B.J. Mangaoang runs for mayor of Seattle

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1989

Eastern European communist bloc countries collapse

1990

BJ Mangaoang lauded in Seattle newspaper for her leadership. She reports less than 200 Party members State-wide.

1998

Mark Jenkins play, All Powers Necessary and Convenient, examining the 1948 Canwell Committee hearings is staged by UW.

2001

Seattle Communist Party office closed

Marc Brodine replaces B.J. Mangaoang as chair of State Party and is elected to the National Committee

2002

Brodine reports state membership at 60

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