Charles Hope Kerr (April 23, 1860 – June 1, 1944) was an American publisher, editor and writer. A son of

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

, he was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and Unitarian in 1886 when he established Charles H. Kerr & Co. in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. His publishing career is noted for his views' leftward progression toward

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and support for the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

Biography

Early life and education

Charles Hope Kerr was born in

LaGrange, Georgia LaGrange is a city in and the county seat of Troup County, Georgia, United States. The population of the city was estimated to be 30,858 in 2020 by the U.S. Census Bureau. It is the principal city of the LaGrange, Georgia Micropolitan Statist ...

, on April 23, 1860. He was the son of Alexander Kerr, a Scotsman who immigrated with his family to Illinois in 1838. His parents were

. When the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

broke out, the Kerr family escaped to safety in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

via the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. In 1871, his father accepted the role of chairman of the Classics Department at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. Charles spent his childhood in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, and

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, eventually graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1881 with a degree in ancient languages. He later made his home in

Career

Kerr began his career at a Unitarian publisher and joined the staff of the ''Unity'' magazine in the mid-1880s. To support the magazine, he eventually established his own publishing house Charles H. Kerr & Co. in 1893. Influenced by the US People's Party, Kerr began to publish more political works on topics like land reform, including a new monthly magazine ''New Occasions''. In January 1900,

Algie Martin Simons Algie Martin Simons (1870–1950) was an American socialist journalist, newspaper editor, and political activist, best remembered as the editor of ''International Socialist Review (1900), The International Socialist Review'' for nearly a decade. ...

was hired by Kerr to launch a new, more explicitly socialist magazine, what would become the '' International Socialist Review''. Over the years, Kerr's company became a leading publisher of socialist, communist, anarchist, and

works. In 1908, Kerr fired Simons and assumed responsibility for the ''International Socialist Review'' when it was a major left-wing voice within the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

Kerr was noted for his translation from the French of the radical workers' anthem, "

The Internationale "The Internationale" is an international anthem that has been adopted as the anthem of various anarchist, communist, socialist, democratic socialist, and social democratic movements. It has been a standard of the socialist movement since ...

;" his version became the English words sung in the United States (although a different, anonymous English translation is sung in Britain and Ireland). Kerr's version was widely circulated in the ''

Little Red Songbook image:wobbly boy.jpg, 180px, The ''Little Red Songbook''The ''Little Red Songbook'' is a collection of songs related to the international trade union the Industrial Workers of the World first published in 1909. Its self-declared purpose is to "fa ...

'' of the Industrial Workers of the World. Kerr was active in partisan politics as well. He was on the National Campaign Committee of the

Social Democratic Party of America Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and later the

. He was on the executive committee of the Socialist Party of Chicago, including a brief stint as treasurer. He was secretary of the Socialist Party of Illinois in 1902.

Personal life

Kerr married May Walden in 1892. She was a temperance activist and feminist who further radicalised Kerr. She also wrote on women's rights, social injustices, and political issues. The couple had a daughter before divorcing in 1904.

Death

Kerr retired to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and died there on June 1, 1944.

Vegetarianism

Kerr was a vegetarian and his company published J. Howard Moore's ''

The Universal Kinship ''The Universal Kinship'' is a 1906 book by American zoologist and philosopher J. Howard Moore. In the book, Moore advocates for the doctrine of Universal Kinship, a secular Sentiocentrism, sentiocentric philosophy, which mandates the ethical con ...

''.

Works

Articles: * "What Socialism Is," ''International Socialist Review,'' (1917) Compilations: * ''Unity songs resung'' (1884) Translations: * '' The right to be lazy, and other studies'' (1907)

References

Bibliography

''The International Socialist Review''
(ISR), 1900
''The Militant Proletariat''
*Tim Dayton

* H.L. Green
"Charles H. Kerr,"
''The Free Thought Magazine'' hicago vol. 14, no. 1 (Jan. 1896), pp. 1, 48-50.

External links

* * Tim Davenport (ed.)
"Publications by Charles H. Kerr & Co. (1885-1940s): Listed Alphabetically by Author,"
Corvallis, OR: Early American Marxism website, 2014.
Charles H. Kerr Company Records
at

the Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wor ...

* (previous page of browse report as 'Kerr, Charles H., 1860–' without '1944')
Charles H. Kerr Company
at LC Authorities, 5 records, an
at WorldCat

May Walden Papers
a
the Newberry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Charles Hope 1860 births 1944 deaths American publishers (people) American socialists American vegetarianism activists Writers from Chicago People from LaGrange, Georgia People from Madison, Wisconsin People from Rockford, Illinois Illinois socialists Social Democratic Party of America politicians Socialist Party of America politicians from Illinois Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni