Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

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