From The Archives-The Struggle To Win The Youth To The Fight For Our Communist Future-

Report to the 2nd World Congress of the Young Communist International by the Young Communist League of America-and the United Communist Party of America, April 1921

  

Logo Of The Communist Youth International

Markin comment on this series:

One of the declared purposes of this space is to draw the lessons of our left-wing past here in America and internationally, especially from the pro-communist wing. To that end I have made commentaries and provided archival works in order to help draw those lessons for today’s left-wing activists to learn, or at least ponder over. More importantly, for the long haul, to help educate today’s youth in the struggle for our common communist future. That is no small task or easy task given the differences of generations; differences of political milieus worked in; differences of social structure to work around; and, increasingly more important, the differences in appreciation of technological advances, and their uses.

There is no question that back in my youth I could have used, desperately used, many of the archival materials available today. When I developed political consciousness very early on, albeit liberal political consciousness, I could have used this material as I knew, I knew deep inside my heart and mind, that a junior Cold War liberal of the American For Democratic Action (ADA) stripe was not the end of my leftward political trajectory. More importantly, I could have used a socialist or communist youth organization to help me articulate the doubts I had about the virtues of liberal capitalism and be recruited to a more left-wing world view. As it was I spent far too long in the throes of the left-liberal/soft social-democratic milieu where I was dying politically. A group like the Young Communist League (W.E.B. Dubois Clubs in those days), the Young People’s Socialist League, or the Young Socialist Alliance representing the youth organizations of the American Communist Party, American Socialist Party and the Socialist Workers Party (U.S.) respectively would have saved much wasted time and energy. I knew they were around but not in my area.

The archival material to be used in this series is weighted heavily toward the youth movements of the early American Communist Party and the Socialist Workers Party (U.S). For more recent material I have relied on material from the Spartacus Youth Clubs, the youth group of the Spartacist League (U.S.), both because they are more readily available to me and because, and this should give cause for pause, there are not many other non-CP, non-SWP youth groups around. As I gather more material from other youth sources I will place them in this series.

Finally I would like to finish up with the preamble to the Spartacist Youth Club’s What We Fight For statement of purpose:

"The Spartacus Youth Clubs intervene into social struggles armed with the revolutionary internationalist program of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky. We work to mobilize youth in struggle as partisans of the working class, championing the liberation of black people, women and all the oppressed. The SYCs fight to win youth to the perspective of building the Leninist vanguard party that will lead the working class in socialist revolution, laying the basis for a world free of capitalist exploitation and imperialist slaughter."

This seems to me be somewhere in the right direction for what a Bolshevik youth group should be doing these days; a proving ground to become professional revolutionaries with enough wiggle room to learn from their mistakes, and successes. More later.

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Report to the 2nd World Congress of the Young Communist International by the Young Communist League of America-and the United Communist Party of America, April 1921

  

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From the FBI Investigative Files, NARA collection M-1085, reel 939, doc. 122.

  

Dear Comrade:

The Left Wing development within the Socialist

Party of America during 1918-1919 also affected

the Young People’s Socialist League.‡ With the formation

of the Communist Party and the Communist

Labor Party many of the younger comrades left the

League and the remaining part of the League as a whole

decided to remain independent of any party while the

controversy between the two Communist parties was

going on. But this did not make things any better, for

the yellow Socialist elements of that organization did

their best to control it, while the membership as a

whole did not fully comprehend the aims and objects

of a revolutionary young people’s movement in this

country. Due to this condition, as well as lack of funds,

the national organization of the YPSL broke down.

Only a few of the local or sectional organizations of it

managed to remain more or less intact.

Both the CP and the CLP passed resolutions to

the effect that they would assist in forming Young

Communist Leagues, but in reality nothing was ever

done about it. The UCP, realizing the necessity of organizing

the Communist youth of America under the

banner of the Young Communist International, laid

†- There were two “2nd World Congress” of the Young Communist International — one held in Jena and Berlin, Germany from

April 6-11, 1921, a gathering which was abruptly terminated when it was learned that the Executive Committee of the Communist

International had called for the 2nd World Congress of the YCI to be held in Moscow in conjunction with the 3rd World Congress

of the Comintern. This 2nd World Congress redux was held from June 9-23, 1921. We know with certainty that this report was

written for the April gathering, however, since the document is signed by “Paul Holt” [Alfred Wagenknecht] on behalf of the United

Communist Party — an organization which ceased to exist after a May 15-28, 1921 unity convention held at Woodstock, New York.

‡- Youth section of the Socialist Party of America.

§- The attachment is not included as part of the archival document.

 

down at its second convention [Kingston, NY, Jan.

1921] a definite plan of action from bringing the Young

Communist League in this country into being (see

Exhibit 1).§

The fraternal delegate of the YCL at the convention

was immediately placed in charge of this work.

After three months, the results are already in evidence.

The YCL is an actuality. Provisional organizational

rules were drawn up, leaflets issued, and a pamphlet

on the YCL prepared (see Exhibits 2 and 3) besides

which organization work was done in all the important

cities.§ About 20 groups are now definitely in

existence, which are working in closest cooperation

with the UCP. Every issue of the official Party organ

[The Communist] carries one or more articles on the

Young Communist movement, and every party official

and member has been urged to do his utmost in organizing

and developing the YCL. At the earliest possible

moment a national convention of the YCL will

be called, at which time the members will outline the

ways, means, and policies of the organization and elect

their own officials.

An international delegate to the Second World

Congress of the YCL was elected by the central committees

of the YCL and the UCP. The national con2

YCLA: Report to the 2nd World Congress of the YCI [April 1921]

 

vention of the YCL will be held immediately upon his

return to America.

All indications point to the fact that a strong

YCL will be developed in this country within a short

time. We hope that the YCL will do all it can to assist

us in this work of making the YCL of America an important

part in the worldwide revolutionary movement.

On behalf of the YCL of A and the UCP of A

we extend our heartiest greetings to the Second World

Congress of the Young Communist International.

LONG LIVE THE YOUNG COMMUNIST

LEAGUE OF AMERICA.

LONG LIVE THE YOUNG COMMUNIST

INTERNATIONAL.

ALL HAIL TO THE WORLDWIDE PROLETARIAN

REVOLUTION.

Fraternally,

National Committee of the

Young Communist League of America,

H. Edwards, National Organizer.

Central Executive Committee of the

United Communist Party of America,

Paul Holt [Alfred Wagenknecht],

Executive Secretary.

Published by 1000 Flowers Publishing, Corvallis, OR, 2006. • Non-commercial reproduction permitted.

   

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