Proletarian Party of America

The Proletarian Party of America was a socialist political party in the United States. It was founded as the Socialist Party of Michigan in Detroit in 1919 by the Michigan Section of the Socialist Party of America which had been expelled due to controversial sections of its by-laws.

The party very soon merged into the Communist Party of America (which would later merge with the Communist Labor Party to form the Communist Party USA). The Michigan organization split from the CPA in 1920 when the central committee attempted to exert control over the party's Proletarian University, a Detroit worker education program. The Michigan organization then constituted the PPA as a separate party.

The party maintained relations with the Comintern for a few years, at first growing to become a national organization and publishing "Proletarian News". The unified CPUSA attempted several times to recruit the PPA into the Workers Party of America and the Trade Union Educational League, to no avail.

The party began concentrating on publishing and organizing strikes during a long decline in membership. It was finally disbanded in 1971.

External links

* [http://www.marxisthistory.org/subject/usa/eam/proletarianparty.html The Proletarian Party (1920 - 1930), online archive of party documents] (Accessed May 29, 2006).

* cite web
last = Wicks
first = H.M.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Memorandum to the CEC of the CPA on the Proletarian Party.
work = A document in the Comintern Archives, RGASPI, f. 515, op. 1, d. 168, ll. 35-42
publisher = Marxisthistory.org
date = circa December 1922
url = http://www.marxisthistory.org/history/usa/parties/cpusa/1922/12/1200-wicks-memoonppa.pdf
format = PDF
doi =
accessdate = 2006-10-01

* cite web
last = Ruthenberg
first = Charles
authorlink = Charles Ruthenberg
coauthors =
title = Comments Regarding the Wicks Memorandum on the Proletarian Party of America.
work = A document in the Comintern Archive, RGASPI, f. 515, op. 1, d. 168, l. 43.
publisher = Marxisthistory.org
date = circa December 1922
url = http://www.marxisthistory.org/history/usa/parties/cpusa/1922/12/1200-ruth-onwicksmemo.pdf
format = PDF
doi =
accessdate = 2006-10-01

* cite web
last = Keracher
first = John
authorlink = John Keracher
coauthors =
title = Letter to O.W. Kuusinen, Secretary, Executive Committee of the Communist International in Moscow from John Keracher, National Secretary, Proletarian Party of America in Chicago,
work = A document in the Comintern Archive, RGASPI, f. 515, op. 1, d. 168, ll. 31-34.
publisher = Marxisthistory.org
date = 1923-05-26
url = http://www.marxisthistory.org/history/usa/parties/ppa/1923/0526-keracher-tokuusinen.pdf
format = PDF
doi =
accessdate = 2006-10-01