Paul Crouch (activist)
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Paul Crouch /pʊəl kraʊtʃ/ (June 24, 1903 – November 18, 1955) was a communist activist and then paid government informer regarding communist infiltration in the U.S. federal government. Crouch biographer Gregory Taylor has called him a "naïve, ill-educated recruit" to the Communist Party.
Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often ...
biographers
Kai Bird Kai Bird (born September 2, 1951) is an American author and columnist, best known for his works on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, United States-Middle East political relations, and his biographies of political figures. He won a ...
and
Martin J. Sherwin Martin Jay Sherwin (July 2, 1937October 6, 2021) was an American historian. His scholarship mostly concerned the history of nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation. He served on the faculty at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvan ...
have claimed that he was the "most highly paid" informer for the
Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
in 1951–1952.


Background

Paul Crouch was born in
Moravian Falls, North Carolina Moravian Falls (formerly, Petersburg and Forks of the Road)* is a census-designated place (CDP) in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,712 as of the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bur ...
, on June 24, 1903.


Career


Communism

Crouch was a worker, secretary, and newspaper editor. In April 1924, he joined the U.S. Army. While stationed in Hawaii, he formed a Hawaiian Communist League (1924–1927) with 75 other soldiers and supported a local strike on a sugar plantation. On February 17, 1925, the military arrested the group and singled out Crouch as their leader. After discharging the others, they sentenced him to 40 years of hard labor. Crouch contacted
Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American author, muckraker journalist, and political activist, and the 1934 California gubernatorial election, 1934 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
, who gained support from the ''
Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in Chicago founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists. Publication began in 1924. It generally reflected the prevailing views of members of the Communist Party USA (CPU ...
'' newspaper and the
International Labor Defense The International Labor Defense (ILD) (1925–1947) was a legal advocacy organization established in 1925 in the United States as the American section of the Comintern's International Red Aid network. The ILD defended Sacco and Vanzetti, was active ...
(ILD), both affiliates of the nascent Communist Party. Thanks to the efforts of ILD lawyer Austin Lewis, Crouch served another 24 months in
Alcatraz Alcatraz Island () is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fo ...
on a commuted three-year sentence. Crouch emerged on June 1, 1927, as a "national ''
cause célèbre A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...
''" to the Communist Party, thanks to the ''Daily Worker''. Crouch moved to New York City, where he joined the
Workers Party of America The Workers Party of America (WPA) was the name of the legal party organization used by the Communist Party USA from December 1921 until the middle of 1929. Background As a legal political party, the Workers Party accepted affiliation from indep ...
. He worked at the ''Daily Worker'', where he met
Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer and intelligence agent. After early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), he defected from the Soviet u ...
on staff. The Party sent him with George Mink on a mission to Moscow from December 1927 to April 1928. He attended the Sixth Plenum of the Executive Committee of the Comintern. He attended what he later called the " Frunze Institute." In Moscow, he met
Mikhail Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj; – 12 June 1937), nicknamed the Red Napoleon, was a Soviet general who was prominen ...
,
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
's wife
Nadezhda Krupskaya Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya ( rus, links=no, Надежда Константиновна Крупская, p=nɐˈdʲeʐdə kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvnə ˈkrupskəjə; – 27 February 1939) was a Russian revolutionary, politician and politic ...
,
Klara Zetkin Clara Zetkin (; ; ''née'' Eißner ; 5 July 1857 – 20 June 1933) was a German Marxist theorist, communist activist, and advocate for women's rights. Until 1917, she was active in the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She then joined the Inde ...
, and "Big"
Bill Haywood William Dudley Haywood (February 4, 1869 – May 18, 1928), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American labor organizer and founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a member of the executive committee of the Socia ...
. He also meet
Sam Darcy Samuel Adams Darcy (born Samuel Dardeck , also known as "Sam Darcy," 1905 – November 8, 2005) was an American political activist who was a prominent Communist leader in both New York and California. He was active in the organization of New Yo ...
there. Crouch returned from Moscow, charged with fomenting national
self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
of African Americans in the "Black Belt" of the
American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...
— from the states of Maryland to Texas. Practically speaking, the American party supported African Americans legally (see
Scottsboro Case The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American male teenagers accused of raping two white women in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. The cases included a lynch mob before ...
) but did not go so far as to promote national self-determination. Following the defeat of the CPUSA ticket for the
1928 Presidential Election The following elections occurred in the year 1928. Africa * 1928 Southern Rhodesian general election Asia * 1928 Japanese general election * 1928 Persian legislative election * 1928 Philippine House of Representatives elections * 1928 Philipp ...
of
William Z. Foster William Z. Foster (born William Edward Foster; February 25, 1881 – September 1, 1961) was a radical American labor organizer and Communist politician, whose career included serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1945 to ...
and
Benjamin Gitlow Benjamin Gitlow (December 22, 1891 – July 19, 1965) was a prominent American socialist politician of the early 20th century and a founding member of the Communist Party of the United States, Communist Party USA. At the end of the 1930s, Gitlow t ...
, Crouch toured the South but found little support except in North Carolina. He supported the 1929 Loray Mill strike in
Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the most populous city in and the county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte area, behind Concord, North Carolina, Concord. The po ...
. He supported the National Textile Workers’ Union (NTWU, now TWUA). He also worked on a strike in Norfolk, Virginia, under the name "Fred Allen." He later claimed to have served the CPUSA as: * 1933–1934: Utah state organizer * 1934–1937: Carolina state organizer * 1938–1939: Alabama state organizer (and editor of the ‘’
New South New South, New South Democracy or New South Creed is a slogan in the history of the American South first used after the American Civil War. Reformers used it to call for a modernization of society and attitudes, to integrate more fully with th ...
’’) * 1939–1941: Tennessee state organizer * 1941–1942: Alameda Country, California, organizer


Anti-communism

Crouch claimed to have broken from the CPUSA in January 1942, although the Party renewed his membership for 1943. During five years as a paid government informer, he testified regarding
Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often ...
,
Harry Bridges Harry Bridges (28 July 1901 – 30 March 1990) was an Australian-born American union leader, first with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA). In 1937, he led several Pacific Coast chapters of the ILA to form a new union, the In ...
,
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
,
William Remington William Walter Remington (1917–1954) was an American economist who was employed in various United States government positions. His career was interrupted by accusations of Communist espionage made by Elizabeth Bentley, a Soviet spy and de ...
,
Milton A. Abernethy Milton Avant Abernathy (February 24, 1911 – April 21, 1991)''U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007''; ''U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014'' was an American journalist, magazine editor, business owner, and s ...
, and many others as Communists. He alleged that Communist conspiracy had reached the White House and inspired the civil rights movement. During his testimony on May 6, 1949, he spoke at length about efforts by the CPUSA to continue to infiltrate the U.S. Army. He also mentioned alleged communists known to him, including
Harry Bridges Harry Bridges (28 July 1901 – 30 March 1990) was an Australian-born American union leader, first with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA). In 1937, he led several Pacific Coast chapters of the ILA to form a new union, the In ...
(strike organizer),
William Schneiderman William V. Schneiderman (December 14, 1905 – January 29, 1985) was an American politician activist who was secretary for California in the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and involved in two cases before the United States Supreme Court, ''Stack v. ...
(California CP),
Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often ...
(atomic scientist), including
Haakon Chevalier Haakon Maurice Chevalier (September 10, 1901 – July 4, 1985) was an American writer, translator, and professor of French literature at the University of California, Berkeley best known for his friendship with physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who ...
(translator). Clearly, the committee tried to connect Crouch to the Hiss Case. During the years 1934–1937, he testified that he had worked under
J. Peters J. Peters (born Sándor Goldberger; 11 August 1894 – 1990) was the most commonly known pseudonym of a man who last went by the name "Alexander Stevens" in 1949. Peters was a journalist, political activist, and accused Soviet spy who was a leadi ...
, Max Bedacht, daughter Elsa Bedacht, and Peter's replacement
Rudy Baker Rudy Baker (born 1898, date of death unknown), a Communist Party USA (CPUSA) official, is today best known for his role as head of the CPUSA's underground '' secret apparatus''. He succeeded to the position in 1938, after the removal of J. Pete ...
. He knew George Mink. He also knew
Alexander Trachtenberg Alexander "Alex" Trachtenberg (23 November 1884 – 26 December 1966) was an American publisher of radical political books and pamphlets, founder and manager of International Publishers of New York. He was a longtime activist in the Socialist Part ...
well. (Bedacht and Peters recruited
Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer and intelligence agent. After early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), he defected from the Soviet u ...
to the underground, while George Mink was an early underground comrate. Chambers’ wife
Esther Shemitz Esther Shemitz (June 25, 1900August 16, 1986), also known as "Esther Chambers" and "Mrs. Whittaker Chambers," was a pacifist American painter and illustrator who, as wife of ex-Soviet spy Whittaker Chambers, provided testimony that "helped substan ...
illustrated a book for
International Publishers International Publishers is a book publishing company based in New York City, specializing in Marxism, Marxist works of economics, political science, and history. Company history Establishment International Publishers Company, Inc., was founde ...
.) However, he did not know Isaac Folkoff or William Edward Crane (AKA Irving Keith), people in one of Chambers’ earlier networks. (It is worth noting that J. Peters, already under federal investigation, left the U.S. permanently on May 8, 1949, two days after Crouch's testimony.) During 1951–1952, Crouch was the "most highly paid" informer for the Justice Department and earned $9,675 (more than $87,000 in inflation-adjusted 2016 dollars) during those two years. During the same period, he lectured across the U.S., sometimes with his wife Sylvia and fellow informant Louis Budenz. In 1953, Crouch testified in a deportation hearing of
Jacob Burck Jacob Burck (née Yankel Boczkowsky, January 10, 1907 – May 11, 1982) was a Polish-born Jewish-American painter, sculptor, and award-winning editorial cartoonist. Active in the Communist movement from 1926 as a political cartoonist and muralist, ...
that he had often seen Burck at Communist Party meetings, yet failed to correctly identify him at that hearing.


Discredited

On January 5, 1953, an appeals board overturned the decision regarding the loyalty of Mary Dublin Keyserling, wife of
Leon Keyserling Leon Hirsch Keyserling (January 11, 1908 – August 9, 1987) was an American economist and lawyer who served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1950 to 1953. During his tenure, he advised President Harry S. Truman on the economic ...
, both New Deal economists. After being cleared of disloyalty, Mary Keyserling was reinstated to her role in the
Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business ...
but both Keyserlings retired from their government roles on January 9. Crouch, J. B. Matthews, and Senator
Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...
were their chief accusers. Mary Keyserling returned to work in government roles under President Johnson. Reporters
Joseph Alsop Joseph Wright Alsop V (October 10, 1910 – August 28, 1989) was an American journalist and syndicated newspaper columnist from the 1930s through the 1970s. He was an influential journalist and top insider in Washington from 1945 to the late 19 ...
,
Stewart Alsop Stewart Johonnot Oliver Alsop (May 17, 1914 – May 26, 1974) was an American newspaper columnist and political analyst. Early life Alsop was born and raised in Avon, Connecticut, from an old Yankee family. Alsop attended Groton School and Yal ...
, and Drew Pearson began to challenge Crouch's testimony. (
I. F. Stone Isidor Feinstein Stone (December 24, 1907 – June 18, 1989) was an American investigative journalist, writer, and author. Known for his politically progressive views, Stone is best remembered for ''I. F. Stone's Weekly'' (1953–1971), a ...
joined in March 1954.) In June, 1954, affidavits accusing Crouch of multiple cases of perjury were filed which led to the overturning of the deportation order against Pulitzer-prize winning political cartoonist,
Jacob Burck Jacob Burck (née Yankel Boczkowsky, January 10, 1907 – May 11, 1982) was a Polish-born Jewish-American painter, sculptor, and award-winning editorial cartoonist. Active in the Communist movement from 1926 as a political cartoonist and muralist, ...
. Within a few months, Justice stopped using Crouch as a witness. In 1955, supreme court justices agreed that Crouch and
Manning Johnson Manning Rudolph Johnson (December 17, 1908 – July 2, 1959) was a Communist Party USA African-American leader and the party's candidate for U.S. Representative from New York's 22nd congressional district during a special election in 1935. Later, ...
had made allegations under perjury.


Death

Crouch died on November 18, 1955, at the hospital of the
University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
in
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
, of cancer of the throat and bronchial tubes.


Legacy

At his death, one of the people whom he had accused wrote:
In his testimony before the Courts, Congressional Committees, and Loyalty Boards, Crouch did just what he was hired to do and, whatever may be said about him, he gave his employers full value of what they wanted of him. He died lonely and despised by those who used him. Those who hired him remain respectable and powerful. They used him and when he was no longer useful they threw him aside. There are plenty of others to take his place. His very death was a final act of service to his hirers, for by it he became purged of his evil doing and they, of their responsibility for using him, for of the dead we should speak only good. Our Attorney General will now be spared the embarrassment of answering questions about the progress of his long delayed "study" of Crouch's conflicting testimony or about what is being done to right the wrongs done his victims.


Works

* ‘’Broken Chains’’ (unpublished manuscript about his CPUSA career 1925–1942)


Images


Paul Crouch
testifies against
Clarence Hiskey Clarence Francis Hiskey (1912–1998), born Clarence Szczechowski, was a scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project and was identified as Soviet espionage agent. He became active in the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) when he attended graduate ...

Paul Crouch
1951 (Getty Images)


See also

*
Elizabeth Bentley Elizabeth Terrill Bentley (January 1, 1908 – December 3, 1963) was an American NKVD spymaster, who was recruited from within the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). She served the Soviet Union as the primary handler of multiple highly placed moles ...
* Louis Budenz *
Harvey Matusow Harvey Job Matusow (October 3, 1926 – January 17, 2002) was an American communist who became an informer for the FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation and subsequently a paid witness for a variety of anti-subversion bodies, including the House U ...
*
Manning Johnson Manning Rudolph Johnson (December 17, 1908 – July 2, 1959) was a Communist Party USA African-American leader and the party's candidate for U.S. Representative from New York's 22nd congressional district during a special election in 1935. Later, ...
*
Herbert Philbrick Herbert Arthur Philbrick (May 11, 1915 – August 16, 1993) was a Boston-area advertising executive who was encouraged by the FBI to infiltrate the Communist Party USA between 1940 and 1949. His autobiography was the basis for the 1950s television ...
*
William Remington William Walter Remington (1917–1954) was an American economist who was employed in various United States government positions. His career was interrupted by accusations of Communist espionage made by Elizabeth Bentley, a Soviet spy and de ...
*
Milton A. Abernethy Milton Avant Abernathy (February 24, 1911 – April 21, 1991)''U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007''; ''U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014'' was an American journalist, magazine editor, business owner, and s ...
*
Anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...


References


External sources

* * * *
Paul Crouch (1903–1955)
East Carolina University {{DEFAULTSORT:Crouch, Paul 1903 births 1955 deaths American spies for the Soviet Union American anti-communists Members of the Workers Party of the United States Members of the Communist Party USA Federal Bureau of Investigation informants Inmates of U.S. Military Prison, Alcatraz Island Deaths from throat cancer in California United States Army personnel who were court-martialed Recipients of American presidential clemency Former Marxists