When Sunflowers Bloomed Red: Kansas and the Rise of Socialism in America

by R. Alton Lee, Steven Cox (Contributor)

When Sunflowers Bloomed Red reveals the origins of agrarian radicalism in the late nineteenth-century United States. Great Plains radicals, particularly in Kansas, influenced the ideological principles of the Populist movement, the U.S. labor movement, American socialism, American syndicalism, and American communism into the mid-twentieth century. Known as the American Radical Tradition, members of the Greenback Labor Party and the Knights of Labor joined with Prohibitionists, agrarian Democrats, and progressive Republicans to form the Great Plains Populist Party (later the People’s Party) in the 1890s.

The Populists called for the expansion of the money supply through the free coinage of silver, federal ownership of the means of communication and transportation, the elimination of private banks, universal suffrage, and the direct election of U.S. senators. They also were the first political party to advocate for familiar features of modern life, such as the eight-hour workday for agrarian and industrial laborers, a graduated income tax system, and a federal reserve system to manage the nation’s money supply. When the People’s Party lost the hotly contested election of 1896, members of the party dissolved into socialist and other left-wing parties and often joined efforts with the national Progressive movement.

When Sunflowers Bloomed Red offers readers entry into the Kansas radical tradition and shows how the Great Plains agrarian movement influenced and transformed politics and culture in the twentieth century and beyond.
 

352 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2020

Reviews

[Andrew Figueiredo · Rating 3 out of 5]

R. Alton Lee has put together an important work of Kansas history. I can't think of any other book level resource on the history of socialism in my home state, and for that alone, this book is worthy of high praise. Lee tracks various categories of socialists in Kansas, from the ones who ran the profitable Appeal to Reason newspaper to elected officials in the Tri-State Area to IWW types in Western Kansas to those who failed to bring the Non-Partisan League to the Sunflower State and beyond. Socialism succeeded in Kansas where it was locally rooted and brought about tangible change. Especially in mining and wheat-growing regions, although also in Wyandotte County, socialists were elected to lower-level offices and enacted changes. The socialist movement also provided a forum for equality and democracy; women were prominent in the movement as Lee notes, and a Black Mayor was even elected in the Southeast corner of the state. However, too often the other parties united to oppose the leftists, and mob violence even transpired. In wartime and during the Red Scares, appeals to fear doomed the credibility of leftist movements. And at the end, as Lee discusses, Kansas' middle-class political ethos didn't fit well with the socialists.

Lee provides a comprehensive look at rural radicalism, relying heavily on primary sources. The book is very well researched, although I sometimes think Lee misses the forest for the trees, one reason I can't rate it higher. Many people receive long descriptions but some don't get talked about enough, despite their importance. For instance, towards the end, he provides a very cursory look at Kansas Communists. Kansas born Earl Browder is mentioned, but not a single Presidential campaign of the many he ran is analyzed! Little is said about Norman Thomas' respectable showing in 1932 or about how socialists differed from the Progressives in the 1910s when both parties performed well in the state. The book's non-chronological format may not lend itself very well to these historical explorations. I thought it worked decently but could've used some slightly better organization.

Another issue I had was with the writing itself. The book could have used additional editing. Some sentences are confusingly worded and the transitions are a bit choppy. A few grammatical or fact errors exist throughout the book too. I usually don't notice these issues unless they're particularly visible, so I would encourage the authors and editors to polish this book for future editions.

All complaints aside, this was an enriching book to read for a Kansas history nerd like me. I hope it leads to increased scholarly interest in the history of socialism in Kansas. I've been talking about this surprising past for years, and Lee helped me learn a lot more.

[Ron Scrogham · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to believe that now ruby red, conservative Kansas was once red with socialism. The town of Girard Kansas was the locus of the socialist newspaper "Appeal to Reason" and is where Socialist Eugene V Debs once declared pm his campaigns for the presidency of the United States. The book introduces many of the leftist agitators and organizers that found popularity among the workers and farmers of the American Midwest. From the late nineteenth century to World II, many socialist ideas became mainstream, like a ten-hour workday, the right to strike, and public ownership of utilities. The book argues that the major political parties co-opted many socialist ideas. When the Great Depression did not result in a dismantling of the capitalist system and with the full employment that World War II, the socialist argument became less appealing. But for a brief time, it was possible to be a socialist in Kansas and to be heard and even to be followed.

[Graeme · Rating 2 out of 5]

I reviewed this book for Humanities-Net here:
https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf...