Post-Cold War Revelations and the American Communist Party : Citizens, Revolutionaries, and Spies

Of all the 'third party' movements in American history, none have been as controversial as the Communist Party of the United States of America. Although denounced as a tool of the Soviet Union, accused of espionage and charged with advocating the revolutionary overthrow of the American government, before WWII it had been an accepted part of the political landscape. This collection offers an intriguing insight into this controversial political party in light of the Moscow archives that were made accessible after the end of the Cold War. This collection of original essays explores new aspects in the history of American Communism, drawing on a range of documents from Moscow and Eastern Europe. Examining traditional subjects in the light of new evidence, the essays cover a range of topics including party leaders, espionage, campaigns against racism, the Spanish Civil War, communism and gender, the fate of members after the McCarthy era and ways in which Communists became Anti-Communists. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Figures Acknowledgments Introduction: Citizens, Revolutionaries, and Spies (vernon L. Pedersen) 1 The “Mental Comintern” and the Self-destructive Tactics of the Cpusa, 1944–8 (john Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr) 2 Earl Browder’s Changing Conception of the Marxian Revolution (james G. Ryan) 3 From Haymarket to Mao? The Radicalism of William Z. Foster (edward P. Johanningsmeier) 4 Communists and Farmers in American History (william C. Pratt) 5 Soviet Spies, Russian Trolls, and the Us Security State: The Consequences of Russia’s Hold on American Imagination, Politics, 6 Friendship Reforged in Anticommunism: Herbert Solow, Whittaker Chambers, and the Juliet Stuart Poyntz Disappearance (denise 7 Myth, Memory, and the Spanish Civil War: The World the Veterans Made (vernon L. Pedersen) 8 “For a New Antifascist, Anti-imperialist People’s Coalition”: Claudia Jones, Black Left Feminism, and the Politics of Possibi 9 American Communism in a Time of Détente (beth Slutsky) 10 The Party’s Over: Former Communist Party Members in the San Francisco Bay Area (robert W. Cherny) Conclusion (vernon L. Pedersen and Katherine A. S. Sibley) Notes On Contributors Index "This collection of essays explore new aspects in the history of American Communism, drawing on a range of documents from Moscow and Eastern Europe that were released after the end of the Cold War. Examining traditional subjects in the light of new evidence, they cover a range of topics including party leaders, espionage, campaigns against racism, the Spanish Civil War, communism and gender, and ways in which Communists became Anti-Communists"-- Provided by publisher