Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
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YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM<br />
Fathers." 78 Using non-specific social terms like "the people" allowed the YCL to make<br />
generalized statements about the character and values of the American public and its<br />
national traditions. The YCL insisted their political program represented American<br />
values and traditions put into practice, increasingly portraying socialism as patriotic and<br />
inherently American. A 1939 article on the YCL constitution stated, "We who believe in<br />
Socialism love our country not only for what it is but for what it can become, not for its<br />
suffering of today but for this promise of the future—when America shall belong to the<br />
people." 79 The YCL believed "fascism in America will come in the guise of a defense of<br />
the traditional rights of the American citizens… [it] will seek to come to power wrapped<br />
in the folds of the American flag." 80 To counter this fascist trend the YCL needed to<br />
embrace and champion the progressive elements of American history.<br />
The "American people" were characterized as an inspiration for communists and antifascists<br />
internationally. Popular Front propaganda exalted the struggles and traditions of<br />
American workers with the same rhetoric traditionally used to praise Soviet workers.<br />
The Leninist Generation had primarily acknowledged the heritage and legacy of the<br />
"Russian people" whose Bolshevik Revolution inspired workers internationally. 81 The<br />
YCLUSA regularly used America's historic links with May Day to portray the traditions<br />
of the American people as a progressive inspiration to the whole world:<br />
The American labor movement has made many significant contributions to the worldwide<br />
struggle of the masses for freedom. America has given the international working<br />
class many heroes, many martyrs. Men such as Tom Mooney, or Angelo Herndon have<br />
significance for the peoples of the world in a way that transcends the borders of our continent.<br />
And the self sacrifice of the American division of the International Brigade, the<br />
Abraham Lincoln Boys, inspires the working people, the oppressed people all over the<br />
world to redoubled efforts to defeat the fascists on Spanish soil....We march in an<br />
American tradition, in the spirit of the Haymarket martyrs, for the security, peace, and<br />
democracy which the American people will not be denied. 82<br />
In 1939, a Review reader submitted a patriotic May Day photo as part of an editorial<br />
column. The photo showed a "Negro comrade" who had just returned from Spain<br />
marching with an American Flag in a Chicago parade. The reader commented that the<br />
photo was "inspiring," hoping that the Review would publish similar patriotic photos in<br />
the future. (See Appendix) 83 Popular Front rhetoric sought to find the common bonds of<br />
revolutionary democracy that existed between the Soviet and American historical experience.<br />
84 The YCLGB also referenced American history, glorifying the struggles of the<br />
American people under the leadership of President Lincoln. 85<br />
Rhetoric about "the people" linked American traditions of the past with the international<br />
anti-fascist struggles of the present. In an article about the death of Dave Doran in<br />
Spain the YCL reflected, "Dave was a native son. He personified the best traditions of<br />
the American people.... He realized it was the fight of all progressive humanity to defeat<br />
world fascism, to preserve world peace. It therefore was the fight of the American<br />
people—his fight." 86 Such associational language was used to link the past and present<br />
while articulating a forward vision of a socialist America. The preamble to the 1939 YCL<br />
72