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Title: Arne Swabeck papers
Date (inclusive): 1913-1999
Collection Number: 87019
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
21 manuscript boxes
(8.4 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Memoirs, other writings, correspondence, resolutions, bulletins, minutes, pamphlets, and serial issues, relating to socialist
and communist movements in the United States, and especially to the Socialist Workers Party and other Trotskyist groups in
the post-World War II period.
Creator:
Swabeck, Arne
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1987.
[Identification of item], Arne Swabeck papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
| 1890 | Born, Denmark |
| 1916 | Emigrates to the United States. Joins the Socialist Party and the Industrial Workers of the World |
| 1919 | Participates in Seattle General Strike |
| 1922 | Attends Fourth Congress of the Third International |
| 1925 | Elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the United States of America |
| 1928 | Expelled from the Communist Party, along with James Cannon and other Trotskyists |
| 1928-1967 | Participates in the American Trotskyist movement, first in the Communist League of America and then in the Socialist Workers Party |
| 1933 | Meets with Trotsky in Prinkipo, Turkey |
| 1967 | Expelled from the Socialist Workers Party |
| 1967-1986 | Continues political activity as a supporter of Maoism, participating briefly in the Progressive Labor Party |
| 1986 | Died |
Received in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1987, the papers of Arne Swabeck provide an insight into the history
of American radicalism in the 20th century. Over a lifetime of political activity, Swabeck participated in such events as
the 1919 Seattle General Strike and the founding of the Communist Party of the United States of America, and was involved
in the American Trotskyist movement from its very beginnings. Swabeck's unpublished autobiography, which includes a chapter
on his meeting with the exiled Leon Trotsky in 1933, is part of the collection (see "From Debs to Mao," 1975, in the SPEECHES
AND WRITINGS series).
The Swabeck papers contain articles, theoretical writings, and speeches from the whole of his political career, tracing his
evolution from trade union militant to Trotskyist activist. During his many years as a member of the Socialist Workers Party,
Swabeck contributed to various Trotskyist publications, and by the late 1950s, both he and his wife identified themselves
as supporters of a kind of Maoism, becoming part of a small "Pro-Chinese Tendency" within the S.W.P. Following his expulsion
from the S.W.P., Swabeck continued to attempt to reconcile Trotskyism and Maoism, and was briefly a member of the Progressive
Labor Party.
Swabeck conducted an extensive political correspondence, and these letters detail many of the internal debates of the American
Trotskyist movement. The collection contains letters mainly from the "Pro-Chinese" phase of Swabeck's activity. The PRINTED
MATTER series includes an extensive selection of Trotskyist publications, as well as some material relating to China and the
New Left.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Communism -- United States
Socialism -- United States
Fourth International
Socialist Workers Party