Among these sturdy agitators William Weitling bore a conspicuous part in preparing the way for organization and for action along political lines.
From this time the propaganda became more active and also clearer and more definite in character.
The movement was gradually evolving from the haze of communism that clung to it through all its early years and was beginning to take form as an independent political organization with the central object of conquering the powers of government as a means of emancipating the working class from wage-slavery.
Labor unions, turner bunds and singing societies were organized all through the fifties, all tending in the same direction, and though not all pronounced, having substantially the same end in view.
In this brief sketch we have not the space to record in detail the many attempts that were made to organize a national working class political movement in the United States. This must be the work of the historian and fortunately for the reader and student he has recently appeared. The first authentic volume upon the subject is the “History of Socialism in the United States,” by Morris Hillquit, a book of over three hundred and fifty pages, written in excellent style and treating ably and exhaustively the various stages of the development from its inception to the large and growing movement of our day.
The little volume entitled “A Brief History of Socialism in America,” by Frederic Heath, editor of the Social Democratic Herald, a valuable collection of historical data to which has been added much original matter, both interesting and instructive, is also well worthy of perusal.
Professor Richard T. Ely, in his “Labor Movement in America,” discussing the “Beginnings of Modern Socialism,” says in reference to the period we are now considering: “The Socialism of today may be said to date from the European revolutions of 1848, all of which soon terminated disastrously for the people as opposed to their rulers. Many German refugees sought our shores, and some of them were ardent Socialists and Communists, who endeavored to propagate their ideas. Wilhelm Weitling, a tailor, born in Magdeburg in 1808, was prominent among these” * * * and “became one of the first to scatter those seeds of economic radicalism which have brought forth such large increase in the social democracy of our own times.” * * *
“The first large society to adopt and propagate Socialism in America was composed of the German Gymnastic Unions (Turnvereine). The Socialistic Turnvereine of New York drew up a constitution for an association, to be composed of the various local gymnastic unions, and published it in 1850. A preliminary gathering of a few delegates was held in New York in the Shakespeare Hotel, then the headquarters of the ‘progressive’ elements among the Germans. It was finally decided to call a meeting of delegates, to be held in Philadelphia, on October 5th of the same year, to effect a permanent organization. Several Turnvereine acted on the suggestion, and among others, delegates were present from New York, Boston and Baltimore. The first name adopted was ‘Associated Gymnastic Unions of North America,’ which was, however, changed the following year to ‘Socialist Gymnastic Union.’”
Through the sixties and seventies the agitation steadily increased, local organizations were formed in various parts of the country, but they were chiefly for the passing day and after serving their temporary purpose, disappeared.
The American Civil War and the emancipation of the negro race which followed, resulting in millions of “free” negroes being thrown upon the “labor market,” had its effect in developing capitalist production.