The American Communist Party [antikvár]

Preface This book is an effort to write a political, social, and cultural history of the American Communist Party from its inception in 1919 to its virtual demise in 1957. In the main, it is a public history, concerned with the relationship between American life and Communism as a political and intellectual current. We have used public sources and have not relied upon the personal testimony of Communists, ex-Communists, or anti-Communists. The statements in this book can be checked, just as the opinions can be debated. Many matters concerning American Communism are not treated here. We are perfectly aware that certain underground operations were at times a significant part of Communist activity; that there have been secret transfers of funds; that Communist spy rings, whether in close association with the party or not, have been at work in the United States. Yet we have chosen not to deal with these matters, not because they are unimportant—they certainly deserve treatment by other writers—but because we have had to submit ourselves to the usual limitations of space, time, interest, and competence. Even in these terms and despite its size, our book cannot pretend to be exhaustive. It does not present a detailed day-by-day or month-by-month chronicle of the inner workings and intrigues of the party. We have kept our main attention upon the public significance of the American Communist movement, and we deal with its institutional life primarily as it helps explain and relates to this public significance. Within the bounds of our self-imposed limits there is more than enough, however, that requires presentation, ordering, analysis, and discussion. It would be disingenuous to pretend that we come to this subject without a point of view or strong predispositions—no writer worth reading could make such a pretense in regard to so vital and controversial a topic. But we have tried to keep statements of fact distinct from statements of opinion, and when we resort to surmise we say so. We have also tried to present all the relevant