Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.
1936 › Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) › Communism, radicalism and "alien isms" as a political issue
Repudiate Communist support; the New Deal is the answer to Communism, not its ally
pledge_forwardspecific_pledgecandidate_directevidence A Elections & Suffrage similar solutions · similar reasoning
Solution
Reject the 'red herring': neither seek nor accept support from advocates of Communism or any alien 'ism'; meet radicalism by curing the conditions that breed it.
Rationale
Communism 'is a manifestation of the social unrest which always comes with widespread economic maladjustment'; 'reaction is no barrier to the radical, it is a challenge, a provocation.'
Statements (2)
I have not sought, I do not seek, I repudiate the support of any advocate of Communism or of any other alien "ism" which would by fair means or foul change our American democracy.
There is no difference between the major parties as to what they think about Communism. But there is a very great difference between the two parties in what they do about Communism.
Follow-through
kept
No alliance with the Communist Party followed; Browder was prosecuted for passport fraud in 1939-40 and imprisoned, and the party's Popular Front line collapsed with the Nazi-Soviet pact.
Mechanisms
| Date | Type | Name | Effect | Consistent? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940-01-22 | litigation | Browder convicted of passport fraud | Party leader imprisoned 1942-43.He was convicted of two counts early in 1940 and sentenced to four years in prison | yes | Earl Browder - Wikipedia |
Assessments
The 'red herring' remained an opposition charge, not a policy.
Reception (1)
Despite the Syracuse repudiation, the Tribune still counted Browder among those Roosevelt might turn to.
if not at once to Brow der, that Mr. Roosevelt will turn for counsel.
Other positions on this issue
- Popular Front: nominal opposition to Roosevelt, real opposition to Landon and 'fascism' — Earl Browder, 1936 vague_gesture
- Keep the Socialist vote independent; chide the La Follettes for handing Roosevelt 'everything on a silver platter' — Norman Thomas, 1936 directional_stance
1936-fdr-repudiate-communist-support · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed