Agrarian Socialism in America: Marx, Jefferson, and Jesus in the Oklahoma Countryside, 1904–1920

by Jim Bissett

Why was Oklahoma, of all places, more hospitable to socialism than any other state in America? In this provocative book, Jim Bissett chronicles the rise and fall of the Socialist Party of Oklahoma during the first two decades of the twentieth century, when socialism in the United States enjoyed its golden age. To explain socialism’s popularity in Oklahoma, Bissett looks back to the state’s strong tradition of agrarian reform. Drawing most of its support from working farmers, the Socialist Party of Oklahoma was rooted in such well-established organizations as the Farmers Alliance and the Indiahoma Farmers’ Union. And to broaden its appeal, the Party borrowed from the ideology both of the American Revolution and of Christianity. By making Marxism speak in American terms, the author argues, Party activists counteracted the prevailing notion that socialism was illegitimate or un-American.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, American History, The United States Of America

249 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[David Damiano · Rating 3 out of 5]

The incredible success of the Socialist Party in Oklahoma is perhaps, from a cursory glance at least, one of the more perplexing stories in American history. Socialism, convention teaches us, is an urban phenomenon, drawing lines between an industrial proletariat and a sophisticated bourgeois capitalist class. The rural and agricultural conditions which dominated Oklahoma society would hardly seem to be conducive to socialism. And yet, Oklahoma emerged as a hotbed of socialist political activity in the first two decades of the twentieth century. How come?

James Bissett presents a compelling explanation, which unfortunately suffers from being too simple. He argues that Oklahoma socialists, armed with their experience as agrarian organizers in the Farmer’s Union, had a highly sophisticated understanding of the conditions afflicting farmers in Oklahoma, and consequently reshaped the Socialist Party in the state accordingly in order to address those conditions. Oklahoma socialists were flexible theorists, dismissing Marxist theory which considered farmers as petty bourgeois and not true proletarians due to their ownership of land. They embraced Protestantism and weaponized the socialistic teachings of Jesus in order to justify their radical agenda. And lastly, they imposed upon the Socialist Party a more democratic style of leadership, decentralizing authority and embracing regional autonomy. In short, the Oklahoma party fused a socialist platform with its authentically American roots, bringing together Marx with Jefferson, as Bissett phrased it.

It’s an attractive argument. But Bissett presents it within too narrow of a framework. Oklahoma was not the only state to engage in colletivist farming alliances. The Farmers’ Alliance spread throughout the entirety of the western and southern United States. Why was it that the Socialist Party experienced such dramatic success in Oklahoma, but not in other states where agrarian collectivism had deep roots, such as Texas or North Carolina? Bissett emphasizes the exploitative nature of the market economy in which Oklahoma farmers were ensnared, and how the system was rigged in favor of the middlemen and moneylenders. But were exploitative conditions somehow unique to Oklahoma, or worse there than elsewhere? The author does not elaborate.

Beyond this, Bissett far too often presents the story in black and white terms, casting socialists as the good guys and Democrats as the bad guys. Indeed, the Democrats sure were nefarious – the chicanery and extralegal methods which they employed to suppress the Socialist Party was truly awful. Chapter 6 in particular made my blood boil. But Bissett is too lenient with the socialists when a deeper and more critical perspective would be of greater value. Take for instance the discussion on black disenfranchisement. While Bissett acknowledges that individual socialists were racist, the real takeaway should be that the state party denounced the Democrats efforts to rob black men of the vote, and that this was a brave and admirable stand to make. This argument reads too much like “a few bad apples” to me. Bissett concedes that very few blacks in Oklahoma participated in the Socialist Party. Why might this be? The issue is not explored beyond that.

In short, Agrarian Socialism in America is a good book on a subject I suspect few Americans know anything about. Yet the arguments presented are too narrow in scope, and too favorable of the protagonists.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to learn more about the history of socialism in Oklahoma and was not left wanting. I found its beginnings in the Indiahoma Farmers Union, the names of radical preachers and socialist paper editors, the voter tallies for socialist candidates by county, thoughtful analysis of its evolution, demise and much more.

What I did not expect to find and found incredibly intriguing were the anti-socialist and frankly anti-democratic, oppressive measures enacted by a cutthroat Oklahoma Democratic Party and a coalition of "liberty"-loving bankers, industry leaders, politicians, bureaucrats, and neighborhood thugs (really fascists by other names) called the Oklahoma State Council of Defense.

For example, the Oklahoma Democratic Party calculatedly and callously stripped the right to vote from blacks and tenant farmers through legislative action and election rigging to reduce electoral support for socialist measures. The Oklahoma State Council of Defense encouraged the brutalization and unjust imprisonment of those who dared to less than enthusiastically donate their money to war overseas or to speak against senseless war in public.

I recommend this book to any Oklahoma progressive or radical who has heard passing references to the heyday of Oklahoma socialists or the Green Corn Revolt and wants to know more. The "more" might surprise and even shock you.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for research on the Green Corn Rebellion, but unfortunately Bissett only dedicated a few pages to it.

Bissett also focuses too much on the inside baseball of the electoral and reformist politics of the Oklahoma socialist party and then rather abruptly, in a disconnected fashion, brings up the WCU, a mutliracial, working-class, direct actionist union, largely comprised of sharecroppers and other propertyless workers, which claimed an impressive 35,000 members in its hayday, as if they sprung from nowhere alongside the Socialist party.

Thankfully, Bissett does include lots of useful bits for contextualizing the rise and decline of socialist politics in the heartland. And this information will be useful for constructing the combined-and-uneven development of the objective and subjective conditions that led to the much more radical insurgency of the WCU and the advent of the rebellion.

This is also a book of interest for anyone interested in Oklahoma history in general.

[Cameron King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book illuminates a fascinating subject. While a work of academic history, it begs the question: in what is today one of the most politically conservative parts of the United States, how important is the tradition of left-wing radicalism? This book is incredibly important for understanding organizing and radicalism during the Progressive Era.

[Kathryn Spurgeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used information in this book for my novel series. My antagonist was socialist and this helped a lot.

[Emily Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look into an often skimmed over history.