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American Workers League

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American Workers League
Founded1853; 171 years ago (1853)
Dissolved1855; 169 years ago (1855)
Succeeded byNew York Communist Club
Free Soil Party
IdeologyMarxism
Socialism
Abolitionism
Political positionLeft

The American Workers League (German: Amerikanische Arbeiterbund) was an American nineteenth century workers political organization.

In 1852, Joseph Weydemeyer, a longtime friend of Karl Marx, created the Proletarierbund (Proletarian League).[1]

In 1853, the Proletarian League was expanded into the American Workers League, with Weydemeyer among their leaders,[2][3] by 800 German American delegates who attended the inaugural meeting in the Mechanics Hall in New York City.[1]

The organization adopted an egalitarian membership policy holding that all workers who live in the United States without distinction of occupation, language, color, or sex can become members.[2] They opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act because it had the effect of allowing slavery in the lands opening up in the American West.[3]

In 1855, Weydemeyer left the leadership of the organization, which had been fading away. He would later join the New York Communist Club.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Obermann, Karl (1947). Joseph Weydemeyer: Pioneer of American Socialism. New York: International Publishers. pp. 55–57.
  2. ^ a b Blackburn, Robin (2011). An Unfinished Revolution: Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln. London: Verso. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-84467-722-1.
  3. ^ a b Alison Clark Efford (20 May 2013). German Immigrants, Race, and Citizenship in the Civil War Era. Cambridge University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-107-03193-7.