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Revolutionary Continuity: the Early Years, 1848-1917
How successive generations of fighters joined in the struggles that shaped the U.S. labor movement, seeking to build a class-conscious revolutionary leadership capable of advancing the interests of workers and small farmers and linking up with fellow toilers worldwide. 1st of 2 vols. Introduction by Farrell Dobbs, photos, drawings, index. 12 Letters and articles by Marx, Engels and Lenin on the labor movement in America. Now with enlarged type.
302 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 1980
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December 21, 2025
This book covers around 70 years of history in the US and around the world, which may seem like an awfully long time. But Marxists don't think just in terms of their own lifespan, but in terms of centuries. Plus, I have personally been in the revolution Marxist movement in the US for more than 50 years, so it doesn't seem so long to me. I will discuss this book in relation to other books.
Dobbs starts with the first German Marxists who came to the United States as refugees after the defeat of the 1848 revolution in their own country. This was not a socialist revolution--its main goals were unifying Germany into one nation out of two empires and dozens of principalities. They also called for a democratically elected republic. But the bourgeoisie was frightened by the appearance of the working class as an independent force and refused to lead (see Revolution & Counterrevolution in Germany,
The two best known of these were Friedrich Sorge and Joseph Weydemeyer, both of whom continued to correspond with Marx and Engels and tried to form a communist organization of German-speaking workers here.
Weydemeyer joined the Union army as an artillery colonel and played a role in saving St. Louis (with many German immigrants) for the Union. One should read Marx and Engels writings in the The Civil War in the United States,' and the current edition, while having a dreadful introduction, has a wonderful 3-part article by Weydemeyer "On the Negro Vote" from 1865.
Later you learn about Daniel De Leon, who had some very strong points, but unfortunately was extremely inflexible when it came to tactics. And Eugene Debs, the most popular socialist ever in the US, who voiced the views of the left-wing of the Socialist Party but wouldn't go to conventions and fight for them. Debs is an important enough figure that I recommend reading both a biography of him, The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene Victor Debs by Ray Ginger, and a book of his speeches entitled Eugene V. Debs Speaks.
But this book will give you highlights in a short course and prepare you for the next volume of Dobbs, Revolutionary Continuity: Birth of the Communist Movement 1918-1922 Movement, 1918-1922 and First Ten Years of American Communism: Report of a Participant.
Dobbs starts with the first German Marxists who came to the United States as refugees after the defeat of the 1848 revolution in their own country. This was not a socialist revolution--its main goals were unifying Germany into one nation out of two empires and dozens of principalities. They also called for a democratically elected republic. But the bourgeoisie was frightened by the appearance of the working class as an independent force and refused to lead (see Revolution & Counterrevolution in Germany,
The two best known of these were Friedrich Sorge and Joseph Weydemeyer, both of whom continued to correspond with Marx and Engels and tried to form a communist organization of German-speaking workers here.
Weydemeyer joined the Union army as an artillery colonel and played a role in saving St. Louis (with many German immigrants) for the Union. One should read Marx and Engels writings in the The Civil War in the United States,' and the current edition, while having a dreadful introduction, has a wonderful 3-part article by Weydemeyer "On the Negro Vote" from 1865.
Later you learn about Daniel De Leon, who had some very strong points, but unfortunately was extremely inflexible when it came to tactics. And Eugene Debs, the most popular socialist ever in the US, who voiced the views of the left-wing of the Socialist Party but wouldn't go to conventions and fight for them. Debs is an important enough figure that I recommend reading both a biography of him, The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene Victor Debs by Ray Ginger, and a book of his speeches entitled Eugene V. Debs Speaks.
But this book will give you highlights in a short course and prepare you for the next volume of Dobbs, Revolutionary Continuity: Birth of the Communist Movement 1918-1922 Movement, 1918-1922 and First Ten Years of American Communism: Report of a Participant.
Displaying 1 of 1 review