Myra Tanner Weiss (May 17, 1917 – September 13, 1997) was an American

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

following

Trotskyism Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

, and a three time U.S. vice presidential candidate of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP).

Biography

Myra Tanner was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. Her grandfather had abandoned

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

when it stopped supporting polygamy. She was recruited to the American

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

movement in 1935, while at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. In the 1930s, Weiss worked with agricultural workers in Southern California, eventually receiving an honorary membership in the Mexican Agricultural Workers Union because of her efforts. In 1942, she married Murry Weiss, also a member of the SWP. They were living and working for the Party in

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 Myra Tanner ran for the mayor of Los Angeles in 1945 and 1949. Myra Tanner Weiss was the SWP's vice-presidential candidate in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

and 1960, with Farrell Dobbs running for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. In 1952, she and Dobbs received 10,312 votes in the presidential election. In 1956 they received 7,797 votes, though they increased their support in the 1960 election to 40,165 votes. In 1954, Weiss was involved in an internal SWP dispute with Joseph Hansen, after Hansen had written an article in '' The Militant'' claiming that working-class women were wasting their money on makeup. This developed into a wider controversy within the Party over feminism and the political aspects of women's cosmetics. Weiss would later write that the chauvinism displayed in the incident contributed to her abandonment of the SWP. Beginning in the 1950s, a split developed in the SWP between the supporters of Murry and Myra Weiss on one side and Farrell Dobbs and Tom Kerry on the other. The two groups argued over their approach to the Cochranites, the supporters of Bert Cochran who advocated for closer work within the Communist Party. Working with James P. Cannon, the Weisses and their supporters, known as the Weissites, attempted to preserve the independence of the SWP as a Trotskyist organization outside of the Communist Party. She resigned from the SWP in 1963, following disagreements with the party about the expulsions of James Robertson and other members of his Revolutionary Tendency group. Later in life, she and her husband Murry Weiss became political supporters of the Freedom Socialist Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Myra Tanner 1917 births 1997 deaths Members of the Freedom Socialist Party 1952 United States vice-presidential candidates 1956 United States vice-presidential candidates 1960 United States vice-presidential candidates Socialist Workers Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Female candidates for Vice President of the United States Socialist Workers Party (United States) politicians from California