National conventions of the Communist Party USA

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30th convention in Chicago

The Communist Party USA has held thirty-two official conventions including nomination conventions and conventions held while the party was known as the Workers Party of America, the Workers (Communist) Party of America and the Communist Political Association. There were also a number of congresses held by the earlier (though often underground) organizational predecessors of the party, including the Communist Labor Party of America, the United Communist Party and two groups known as the Communist Party of America. The Communist Party's 31st National Convention took place in Chicago from June 13 to 15 in 2019. [1]

Contents

Left-wing conference

A resolution for a national conference of left leaning organizations within the Socialist Party of America had been adopted by the Boston local in May 1919 and endorsed by a number of other locals. Admittance as left-wing was defined as endorsement of the left-wing program adopted by the Left Wing Section of Greater New York. [2] When the conference met the delegates divided between a group around the periodical The Revolutionary Age that wanted to infiltrate the Socialist Party's convention in Chicago that September and those who wished to create a Communist Party immediately. The minority withdrew and formed the National Organization Committee for a Communist Party. This group was mainly made up of the suspended language federations and the Socialist Party of Michigan.

The majority formed a national left-wing council and attempted to arrange a take over of the Socialist Party's convention. However, by late August the majority decided to forgo this plan and joined with the National Organization Committee to create a new party at a convention in Chicago. A minority, led by Ben Gitlow and John Reed split with the majority and attempted to infiltrate the Socialist Party convention alone. [3]

Communist Party of America (1919)

ConventionCityDateNotes
FoundingChicagoSeptember 1–7, 1919 Manifesto and program. Constitution. Report to the Communist International; The Communist Vol. I #1 Sept 27, 1919
SecondNew YorkJuly 13–18, 1920First after the departure of the Michigan and Ruthenberg factions; The Communist Vol. II #8 Aug 1, 1920
ThirdNew YorkFebruary 1921

Communist Labor Party/United Communist Party

ConventionCityDateNotes
FoundingChicagoAugust 31 – September 5, 1919Founds Communist Labor Party; Minutes of the Founding Convention of the Communist Labor Party of America; Constitution of the Communist Labor Party of America at Early American Marxism
Joint Unity Bridgman, Michigan May 26–31, 1920The CLP and the Ruthenberg group of the CPA merge into the United Communist Party Program and constitution of the United Communist Party of America.
Second Kingston, New York December 24, 1920 – January 2, 1921

Communist Party of America (1921)

ConventionCityDateNotes
Joint Unity Woodstock, New York May 15–28, 1921CPA and UCP merge
SecondBridgman, MichiganAugust 17–22, 1922Raided by the Justice Department
Reds in America; the present status of the revolutionary movement in the U. S. based on documents seized by the authorities in the raid upon the convention of the Communist party at Bridgman, Mich., Aug. 22, 1922, together with descriptions of numerous connections and associations of the Communists among the Radicals, Progressives, and Pinks
ThirdNew YorkApril 7, 1923Dissolves underground CPA into aboveground Workers Party of America

Workers Party of America

ConventionCityDateNotes
FoundingNew YorkDecember 23–26, 1921Merges the Workers Council, the CPAs aboveground American Labor Alliance and other groups to form the Workers Party of America
Program and constitution, Workers Party of America, adopted at national convention, New York City, December 24, 25, 26, 1921
SecondNew YorkDecember 24–26, 1922 Constitution of the Workers Party of America, as amended by the Second National Convention, New York December 24-25 and 26, 1922
ThirdChicagoDecember 30, 1923 – January 2, 1924 The second year of the Workers Party of America report of the Central Executive Committee to the Third National Convention held in Chicago, Ill., Dec. 30, 31, 1923 and Jan. 1, 2, 1924 : theses, program, resolutions.
Program and constitution
NominatingChicagoJuly 10, 1924Nominates William Z. Foster for President and Benjamin Gitlow for Vice President

Workers (Communist) Party of America

ConventionCityDateNotes
FourthChicagoAugust 21–30, 1925Changes name to Workers (Communist) Party, Ruthenberg minority given control of party by Comintern representative
The fourth national convention of the Workers (Communist) Party of America : Report of the Central Executive Committee to the 4th national convention ...;
From the Third Through the Fourth Convention of the Workers (Communist) Party of America
FifthNew YorkAugust 31 – September 6, 1927Confirms Jay Lovestone as Executive Secretary and Lovestone group as majority on party organs
NominatingNew YorkMay 25–27, 1928Nominates William Z. Foster for President and Benjamin Gitlow for Vice President
Acceptance speeches; The platform of the class struggle; national platform of the Workers (communist) party, 1928.

Communist Party USA

ConventionCityDateNotes
SixthNew YorkMarch 4–10, 1929Adopts current name. Lovestone faction wins majority, but replaced by Gitlow as Executive Secretary by the Comintern
SeventhNew YorkJune 21–25, 1930Elects Earl Browder General Secretary
NominatingChicagoMay 28–29, 1932Nominates William Z. Foster for President and James Ford for Vice President
EighthClevelandApril 2–8, 1934 Report of the Central Committee to the Eighth Convention of the Communist Party of the USA, Held in Cleveland, Ohio, April 2–8, 1934.
NinthNew YorkJune 24–28, 1936 Report of the Central Committee to the ninth National Convention of the Communist Party of the U.S.A.; Democracy or Fascism report of the Central Committee to the ninth National Convention of the Communist Party of U.S.A., and speech in reply to discussion; Resolutions: ninth convention of the Communist Party of the U.S.A.
TenthNew YorkMay 27–31, 1938 Report to the Tenth National Convention of the Communist Party on Behalf of the Central Committee.; Resolutions of the 10th convention of the Communist Party, U.S.A.
EleventhNew YorkMay 30–June 2, 1940
SpecialNew YorkNovember 16, 1940
TwelfthNew YorkMay 20–22, 1944Changes name to Communist Political Association; The road ahead to victory and lasting peace,
ThirteenthNew YorkJuly 26–28, 1945Readopts current name; removes Browder as General Secretary, replaced by Eugene Dennis
FourteenthNew YorkAugust 2–6, 1948Endorses Henry Agard Wallace for President; Eugene Dennis indicts the Wall Street conspirators.
FifteenthNew YorkDecember 28–30, 1950 What it means to be a Communist; On Guard against Browderism, Titoism, Trotskyism.
SixteenthNew YorkFebruary 9–12, 1957
SeventeenthNew YorkDecember 10–13, 1959
EighteenthNew YorkJune 22–26, 1966
NineteenthNew YorkApril 30 – May 4, 1969
TwentiethNew YorkFebruary 18–21, 1972 Toward Chicano liberation; the Communist Party position.
Twenty-firstChicagoJune 26–29, 1975
Twenty-secondDetroitAugust 23–26, 1979 Resolution on the path to native American liberation : adopted at the 22nd Convention, CPUSA, August 23-26, 1979.
Twenty-thirdClevelandNovember 10–13, 1983
Twenty-fourthChicagoAugust 13–16, 1987
Twenty-fifthClevelandDecember 5–8, 1991First convention after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the failed August coup
Twenty-sixthClevelandMarch 1–3, 1996First convention after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Twenty-seventhMilwaukeeJuly 6–8, 2001First convention after the death of Gus Hall; "Bill of Rights Socialism" becomes policy; archived website
Twenty-eighthChicagoJuly 1–3, 2005 Archived web page
Twenty-ninthNew YorkMay 21–23, 2010 Convention web page
Thirtieth ChicagoJune 13–15, 2014 Convention web page
Thirty-first ChicagoJune 21-23, 2019 Convention web page
Thirty-secondChicagoJune 7-9, 2024 Convention web page

Footnotes

  1. "Final Resolutions for the 31st National Convention". CPUSA. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. Revolutionary Age Vol. I #33 May 31, 1919.
  3. Revolutionary Age Vol II #7 Aug 23, 1919.

See also

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