John J. Ballam (June9, 1882September26, 1954) was an English-born American

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

and

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

organizer. He is best remembered as a founding member and one of the pioneer leaders of the

Communist Party of America 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 ...

and as a leader of the

Trade Union Unity League The Trade Union Unity League (TUUL) was an industrial union umbrella organization under the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) between 1929 and 1935. The group was an American affiliate of the Red International of Labor Unions. The fo ...

in the textile industry during the 1930s.

Biography

Early years

John J. Ballam was born June 9, 1882, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. His family relocated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

soon after.

Political career

Ballam was a member of the

Socialist Labor Party of America 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 ...

from 1898 to 1902. In 1905, Ballam joined the fledgling

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 ...

, remaining a member of that organization through 1912. In 1912, Ballam joined 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 ...

(SPA). He remained a member of the Socialist Party through the 1919 split of the organization. On June 10, 1918, Ballam was sentenced in Boston to 1 year in jail under the

Espionage Act The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code ( ...

for a speech he delivered against American participation in the

first World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Ballam served time at the Plymouth County Jail until his release on about April 1, 1919. In 1919, Ballam was a member of the Left Wing National Council, the New York-based group which was the embryo responsible for establishing the

(CPA) that same summer. Ballam was a delegate to the founding convention of the CPA, held in Chicago the first week of September 1919. He was elected vice chairman by the convention but resigned in protest after just one day in response to internecine factional fighting that dominated the proceedings. Following the conclusion of the founding convention of the CPA, Ballam edited the biweekly newspaper ''The New England Worker,'' published by the new organization. Ballam was arrested by the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, on December 2, 1919. He was returned to

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

to face charges of having violated the Massachusetts Anti-Anarchy Act, which he did in January 1920. Ballam was a member of the first Central Executive Committee of the CPA, elected in 1919.Theodore Draper, ''The Roots of American Communism.'' New York: Viking, 1957; pg. 184. He remained in this position through 1921. District Organizer for an area including the cities of Cleveland and Pittsburgh for that group from April 1920 onwards. During the first months of American communism, Ballam was regarded as a hardline opponent of unity of the CPA with the rival Communist Labor Party of America or its successor, the

United Communist Party of America United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. Following unification of the CPA with this group, Ballam emerged as the leading English-speaking figure of a dissident left opposition group which split from the CPA late in 1921 over the issue of the forced participation of ostensibly underground party members in a "legal political party."Bryan Palmer, ''James P. Cannon and the Origins of the American Revolutionary Left, 1890–1928.'' Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007; pg. 142. Ballam was chosen to make the trip to Moscow on behalf of his comrades in an attempt to gain recognition for the underground Communist Party dissidents and their "legal" wing, the United Toilers, as the Communist International's official representatives in America. Early in 1922, the Comintern ruled against the Central Caucus's parallel "Communist Party of America," ordering its members to reunite with the regular party organization and to turn over all of its "records, addresses, connections, and properties" to the main organization within 60 days.Draper, ''The Roots of American Communism,'' pg. 357. Ballam agreed to this demand of the Comintern and returned to the regular CPA, which elected him a delegate to the party's ill-fated

1922 Bridgman Convention The 1922 Bridgman Convention was a secret conclave of the underground Communist Party of America (CPA) held in August 1922 near the small town of Bridgman, Michigan, about outside of the city of Chicago on the banks of Lake Michigan. The convent ...

, held in August. Although he escaped arrest at the time of the raid, Ballam was among 9 of those who surrendered to authorities on March 10, 1923. He was released on a $1,000 bond but was never brought to trial on charges of having violated the Michigan anti-syndicalist law through his participation in the gathering. In August 1923, Ballam was chosen as the campaign manager for the Workers Party of America's (successor to the underground CPA) effort to raise $100,000 to establish a daily newspaper in America. During the bitter factional warfare of the 1920s, Ballam was a consistent supporter of the Communist Party faction headed by

John Pepper József Pogány, known in English as John Pepper or Joseph Pogany, (November 8, 1886 – February 8, 1938) was a Hungarian Communist politician. He later served as a functionary in the Communist International (Comintern) in Moscow, before being ...

, C.E. Ruthenberg, and

Jay Lovestone 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, a leader of the Communist Party USA, leader of a small oppositionist party, an anti-Communist and Cen ...

.Theodore Draper, ''American Communism and Soviet Russia.'' New York: Viking Press, 1960; pg. 128 and ''passim.'' Ballam worked as the Workers Party of America's district organizer for Buffalo and upstate New York state in 1924."Letter to C.E. Ruthenberg and the WPA Organization Committee in Chicago from John J. Ballam, DO4 (Buffalo), April 14, 1924."
Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2007.

Political campaigns

Ballam was the candidate of the Workers Party for

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...

in 1924.Lawrence Kestenbaum
"Index to Politicians: Ballam to Bancroft,"
The Political Graveyard, politicalgraveyard.com/ Retrieved March 9, 2011. He ran for

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from Massachusetts in 1926 and again in 1928. In 1931 Ballam ran for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

as the candidate of the Communist Party USA. The next year he ran for Governor of Massachusetts, heading the party's ticket in that state. Ballam's final run for political office came in 1940, when he ran for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

in the 16th Congressional District of New York.

Union activities

In 1922, Ballam was named the New England organizer for the Textile Workers' Union of the

Trade Union Educational League The Trade Union Educational League (TUEL) was established by William Z. Foster in 1920 (through 1928) as a means of uniting radicals within various trade unions for a common plan of action. The group was subsidized by the Communist Internationa ...

. Ballam was involved as a union leader in the 1926 Passaic Textile Strike. He appeared as himself in the documentary film on the strike produced by the Workers (Communist) Party of America to publicize the plight of the strikers. Ballam was named the National Organizer of the National Textile Workers Union, part of the Communist Party-sponsored

in 1933. In this capacity he was active in helping direct the 1933 strike of workers in the

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

industry, a stoppage which involved as many as 65,000 workers in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and elsewhere in the east.Harvey Klehr, ''The Heyday of American Communism: The Depression Decade.'' New York: Basic Books, 1984; pg 128.

Works

"Report of the Secretary of the Central Caucus to the National Conference of the Communist Party of America, December 25, 1921."
Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2007.
"Testimony to the Executive Committee of the Communist International, March 18, 1922."
Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2007.
"Uphold Your Revolutionary Traditions!"
''Daily Worker'' hicago vol. 3, no. 59 (March 22, 1926), pg. 4. * ''Soviet "Dumping" and "Forced Labor."'' New York: Friends of Soviet Russia, n.d. . 1929 * ''70,000 Silk Workers Strike for Bread and Unity.'' New York: Labor Unity Publications, 1934.

Death and legacy

John J. Ballam died in 1954.

Footnotes

External links

* Tim Davenport
"Introduction to ''The Worker'' (1919–1920),"
Marxists Internet Archive, www.marxists.org/ —Edited by Ballam. Includes links to 5 of the 6 issues ever produced. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballam, John J. 1882 births 1954 deaths Politicians from Boston Members of the Socialist Party of America Members of the Communist Party USA Communist Party USA politicians American Marxists Industrial Workers of the World members American trade union leaders People convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917 20th-century American politicians American trade unionists of English descent Trade unionists from Massachusetts English emigrants to the United States