Jay Lovestone
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Jay Lovestone (15 December 1897 – 7 March 1990) was an American activist. He was at various times a member of 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 ...
, a leader of the
Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...
, leader of a small oppositionist party, an
anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
and
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) asset, and foreign policy advisor to the leadership of the
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...
and various unions within it.


Biography


Background and early life

Lovestone was born Jacob Liebstein (Яков Либштейн ''Yakov Libshtein'') into a
Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...
family in a ''
shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...
'' called Moǔchadz in
Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...
(then part of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, now in Grodno Region,
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
). His father, Barnet, had been a
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
, but when he emigrated to America he had to settle for a job as '' shammes'' (caretaker). Barnet came first, then sent for his family the next year. Lovestone arrived with his mother, Emma, and his siblings, Morris, Esther and Sarah at
Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...
on September 15, 1907. They originally settled on Hester Street in Manhattan's
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
, but later moved to 2155 Daly Avenue in the
Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
. The family did not know their dates of birth precisely, but they assigned Jacob the date of December 15, 1897. Young Liebstein was attracted to socialist politics from his teens. While imbibing all the ideological currents in the vibrant New York Yiddish and English radical press, he was particularly attracted to the ideas of
Daniel De Leon Daniel De Leon (; December 14, 1852 – May 11, 1914), alternatively spelt Daniel de León, was a Curaçaoan-American socialist newspaper editor, politician, Marxist theoretician (Marxism), theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarde ...
. Although it is not known whether he ever joined de Leon's
Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...
, he was one of the 3,000 mourners who attended his funeral on May 11, 1914. Liebstein entered
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...
in 1915. Already a member of the Socialist Party, he joined its unofficial student wing, the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. He became secretary and then president of the CCNY chapter. He also met William Weinstone and Bertram Wolfe in ISS, who would go on to become his factional allies in the Communist Party. He graduated in June 1918. In February 1919 he had his name legally changed to Jay Lovestone, the surname being a literal translation of ''Liebstein''. (During the early 20th century such name changes were a common practice for Jewish immigrants who encountered widespread antisemitism in American society.) That year he also began studying at NYU Law School, but dropped out to pursue a career as a full-time Communist party member.


Communist years (1919–1929)

His first foray into what would become the American Communist movement began in February 1919, when the left wing elements in the Socialist Party of New York began to organize themselves as a separate faction. Lovestone was on the original organizing committee, the Committee of 15, with Wolfe, John Reed and Benjamin Gitlow. That June he attended the National Conference of the Left Wing.


Communist opposition years (1929–1941)

When Stalin purged Bukharin from the Soviet
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
in 1929, Lovestone suffered the consequences. A visiting delegation of the Comintern asked him to step down as party secretary in favor of his rival William Z. Foster. Lovestone refused and departed for the Soviet Union to argue his case. Lovestone insisted that he had the support of the vast majority of the Communist Party and should not have to step aside. Stalin responded that he "had a majority because the American Communist Party until now regarded you as the determined supporters of the Communist International. And it was only because the Party regarded you as friends of the Comintern that you had a majority in the ranks of the American Communist Party".


Union and anti-Communist activities

In 1944, David Dubinsky arranged to place Lovestone in the AFL's Free Trade Union Committee, where he worked out of the ILGWU's headquarters. Along with Irving Brown he led the activities of the American Institute for Free Labor Development, an organization sponsored by the AFL which worked internationally, organizing free labor unions in Europe and Latin America which were not Communist-controlled. In connection with that work he cooperated closely with the CIA, feeding information about Communist labor-union activities to James Jesus Angleton, the CIA's counterintelligence chief, in order to undermine Communist influence in the international union movement and provide intelligence to the US government. He remained there until 1963 when he became director of the
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...
's International Affairs Department (IAD), which quietly sent millions of dollars from the CIA to aid anti-communist activities internationally, particularly in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. In 1973, AFL–CIO president George Meany discovered that Lovestone was still in contact with Angleton of the CIA, who was conducting illegal domestic spying activities, despite being told seven years earlier to terminate this relationship. Meany chose to force Lovestone out by issuing an instruction with which he knew Lovestone would not comply. On March 6, 1974, he informed Lovestone that he wanted to close his New York office, stop publication of ''Free Trade Union News'', and transfer Lovestone and his library and archives to Washington, D.C. When Lovestone argued he could not relocate his library of 6,000 books, he was dismissed, effective July 1. Lovestone's successor, Ernie Lee, maintained a low profile during his tenure from 1974 through 1982 and significantly scaled back the AFL–CIO's aggressive advocacy of a hawkish, anti- détente foreign policy.


Death and legacy

Lovestone died on March 7, 1990, at the age of 92. Lovestone's massive accumulation of papers, today encompassing more than 865 archival boxes, were acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1975, where they remained sealed for 20 years.Elena Danielson
"A Fierce, Freedom-Loving Man,"
''Hoover Digest,'' issue 1999#1, January 30, 1999.
The material was opened to the public in 1995 and was a source for author Ted Morgan, who published the first full-length biography of Lovestone in 1999. An associate, Louise Page Morris, later supplemented the collection with her correspondence—according to other reports, Morris "spent 25 years as Lovestone's lover." Lovestone's
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
file is reported to be 5,700 pages long.Random House
Publisher description for ''A Covert Life: Jay Lovestone, Communist, Anti-Communist, and Spymaster''


Bibliography


Communist Party years

* ''The Government — Strikebreaker: A Study of the Role of the Government in the Recent Industrial Crisis.'' New York: Workers Party of America, 1923. * ''Blood and Steel: An Exposure of the 12-Hour Day in the Steel Industry''. New York: Workers Party of America, n.d. 923
''What's What About Coolidge?''
Chicago, Workers Party of America, n.d. [] iarchive:WhatsWhatAboutCoolidge, alternate link * iarchive:241015LovestoneLafolletteillusionBw, ''The LaFollette Illusion: As Revealed in an Analysis of the Political Role of Senator Robert M. LaFollette''. Chicago: Literature Department, Workers Party of America, 1924. * iarchive:AmericanImperialismTheMenaceOfTheGreatestCapitalistWorldPower, ''American Imperialism: The Menace of the Greatest Capitalist World Power.'' Chicago: Literature Department, Workers Party of America, n.d. 925
''The Party Organization''
(Introduction). Chicago: Daily Worker Publishing Co., n.d. 925
''Our Heritage from 1776: A Working Class View of the First American Revolution.''
With Wolfe, Bertram D. and William F. Dunne, New York: The Workers School, n.d. 926 alternate link * ''The Labor Lieutenants of American Imperialism.'' New York: Daily Worker Publishing Co., 1927. * ''The Coolidge Program: Capitalist Democracy and Prosperity Exposed.'' New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1927. (Workers library #2) * ''Ruthenberg, Communist fighter and leader'' (Introduction). New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1927. * ''1928: The Presidential Election and the Workers.'' New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1928. (Workers library #4) Yiddish translation * ''America Prepares the Next War.'' New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1928. (Workers library #10) * ''Pages from Party History.'' New York: Workers Library Publishers, n.d. ebruary 1929


Communist opposition years

* "Twelve Years of the Soviet Union," ''The Revolutionary Age,'' Vol. 1, no. 1 (November 1, 1929), pp. 7–8.
''The American Labor Movement: Its Past, Its Present, Its Future.''
New York: Workers Age Publishing Association, n.d.
932 Year 932 (Roman numerals, CMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Alberic II of Spoleto, Alberic II leads an uprising at Rome against his stepfather Hugh of Italy, Hu ...

''What Next for American Labor?''
New York: Communist Party of the United States (Opposition), n.d. 934br>''Marxian classics in the light of current history.''
New York City, New Workers School 1934
''Soviet Foreign Policy and the World Revolution.''
New York: Workers Age Publishers, 193
alternate link

''People's Front Illusion: From "Social Fascism" to the "People's Front."''
New York: Workers Age Publishers, n.d.
937 Year 937 ( CMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * A Hungarian army invades Burgundy, and burns the city of Tournus. Then they go southwards to Italy, pillaging the environs of ...

''New Frontiers for Labor.''
New York: Workers Age Publishers, n.d. 938


Post-radical years

* ''The Big Smile: An Analysis of the Soviet "New Look."'' with Matthew Woll. New York: Free Trade Union Committee, American Federation of Labor, 1955. * ''Communist and Workers' Parties' manifesto adopted November–December, 1960; Testimony of Jay Lovestone, January 26, February 2, 1961''. Washington, D.C.:
United States Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal gove ...
, 1961.


Citations and references


Cited sources and further reading

* Alexander, Robert J. (1981). ''The Right Opposition: The Lovestoneites and the International Communist Opposition of the 1930s''. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of B ...
. * Devinatz, Victor G. (2002)
"Reassessing The Historical UAW: Walter Reuther's Affiliation with the Communist Party and Something of Its Meaning — A Document of Party Involvement, 1939."
''Le Travail''. * Hirsch, Fred (1974). ''An Analysis of Our AFL-CIO Role in Latin America or Under the Covers with the CIA.'' San Jose, CA: F. Hirsch. * LeBlanc, Paul, and Tim Davenport, eds. (2015). ''The "American Exceptionalism" of Jay Lovestone and His Comrades, 1929-1940: Dissident Marxism in the United States, Volume 1.'' Leiden, NL: Brill. * * Wilford, Hugh (2008). ''The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America''. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...
.


External links


Jay Lovestone Archive
at marxists.org * Grace M. Hawes (ed.), "Register of the Jay Lovestone Papers, 1906-1989," Hoover Institution Archives,
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, 2008.
Obituary from ''The New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovestone, Jay 1897 births 1990 deaths People from Baranavichy district People from Slonimsky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Socialist Party of America politicians from New York (state) Communist Party USA politicians American anti-communists Right Opposition American trade union leaders Former Marxists International Ladies Garment Workers Union leaders Jewish socialists Jewish anti-communists City College of New York alumni Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany