"You Started Something when You Joined the International Brigade, Papa": Alvah Bessie, the Spanish Civil War, and the Communist Party of the United States of America
Location
Science Center, A155
Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-25-2014 2:45 PM
End Date
4-25-2014 3:45 PM
Abstract
This thesis challenges the traditional narrative of the Communist Party of the United States of America through a “microhistory” of one of its dedicated members, writer Alvah Bessie (1904-1985). By studying the documents, books, and letters Bessie left behind, I show how the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) accelerated the collapse of the organized revolutionary left in the United States. As revealed in Bessie’s narrative, the Soviet Union’s military mismanagement and strict anti-revolutionary policies led to a significant number of the most committed American communists being killed, wounded, or disillusioned with Soviet-style communism.
Recommended Citation
Palmer, Reid, ""You Started Something when You Joined the International Brigade, Papa": Alvah Bessie, the Spanish Civil War, and the Communist Party of the United States of America" (04/25/14). Senior Symposium. 27.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/seniorsymp/2014/presentations/27
Major
Economics; History
Advisor(s)
Ellis Tallman, Economics
Len Smith, History
Project Mentor(s)
Renee Romano, History
April 2014
"You Started Something when You Joined the International Brigade, Papa": Alvah Bessie, the Spanish Civil War, and the Communist Party of the United States of America
Science Center, A155
This thesis challenges the traditional narrative of the Communist Party of the United States of America through a “microhistory” of one of its dedicated members, writer Alvah Bessie (1904-1985). By studying the documents, books, and letters Bessie left behind, I show how the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) accelerated the collapse of the organized revolutionary left in the United States. As revealed in Bessie’s narrative, the Soviet Union’s military mismanagement and strict anti-revolutionary policies led to a significant number of the most committed American communists being killed, wounded, or disillusioned with Soviet-style communism.
Notes
Session II, Panel 7 - Careful What You Wish For: Cautionary Case Studies in (Radical) Democracy
Moderator: Chris Howell, Professor of Politics