Arnold Petersen
Encyclopedia
Arnold Petersen was the National Secretary of the Socialist Labor Party of America
from 1914 to 1969. Petersen played a major role as spokesmen for that party and as a promoter of the De Leonist version of Marxist theory in the 20th century.
, Denmark
, the son of a tailor. After graduating college, he immigrated to the United States and worked in a paper box factory. In 1907 he joined the Socialist Labor Party.
Daniel De Leon
nominated Petersen to be national secretary a few months before his death in May, 1914. As national secretary, Petersen restructured the party and saved it from bankruptcy. He was also a prolific author, writing over fifty books, including a series of biographical monographs on De Leon, collected as Daniel De Leon: Social Architect.
When he retired as Socialist Labor Party of America leader in 1969, he had been the organizations leader for fifty five of the organizations ninety-four years of existence, and seventy-nine years as a "De Leonist" organization (which the party dates from 1890).
A longtime resident of Teaneck, New Jersey
, he died on February 5, 1976, in Paterson, New Jersey
.
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
from 1914 to 1969. Petersen played a major role as spokesmen for that party and as a promoter of the De Leonist version of Marxist theory in the 20th century.
Biography
Arnold Petersen was born in OdenseOdense
The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, the son of a tailor. After graduating college, he immigrated to the United States and worked in a paper box factory. In 1907 he joined the Socialist Labor Party.
Daniel De Leon
Daniel De Leon
Daniel DeLeon was an American socialist newspaper editor, politician, Marxist theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarded as the forefather of the idea of revolutionary industrial unionism and was the leading figure in the Socialist Labor Party of America from 1890 until the time of...
nominated Petersen to be national secretary a few months before his death in May, 1914. As national secretary, Petersen restructured the party and saved it from bankruptcy. He was also a prolific author, writing over fifty books, including a series of biographical monographs on De Leon, collected as Daniel De Leon: Social Architect.
When he retired as Socialist Labor Party of America leader in 1969, he had been the organizations leader for fifty five of the organizations ninety-four years of existence, and seventy-nine years as a "De Leonist" organization (which the party dates from 1890).
A longtime resident of Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
, he died on February 5, 1976, in Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
.
Selected works
- Unemployment and overproduction (1930)
- The virus of anarchy: Bakuninism vs. Marxism (1932)
- Manifesto on War. Decay and corruption of international capitalism (1937)
- Daniel De Leon: From Reform to Revolution 1886-1936 New York: New York Labor News Co., 1937
- De Leon the uncompromising New York: New York Labor News Co., 1939
- Daniel De Leon: social architect (1941)
- From reform to bayonets (1941)
- Inflation of Prices or Deflation of Labor? (1942)
- Karl Marx and Marxian science (1943)
- Daniel de Leon: Internationalist New York: New York Labor News Co., 1944
- Daniel De Leon: Social scientist (1945)
- Marxism vs. Soviet despotism (1959)
- Socialism and human nature (1962)
- Bourgeois Socialism: Its Rise and Collapse in America (1963)
Sources
- Biographical Dictionary of the American Left (Bernard K. Johnpoll and Harvey KlehrHarvey KlehrHarvey E. Klehr is a professor of politics and history at Emory University; he is known for his books on the subject of the American Communist movement, and on Soviet espionage in America ....
editors ( "Arnold Petersen" by John Gerber, pp. 314-5. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press. 1986
Other sources
- Girard, Frank and Ben Perry, Socialist Labor Party, 1876-1991: A Short History (Philadelphia, PA: Livra Books, 1991)
- Hass, Eric The Socialist Labor Party and the Internationals (New York Labor News Co. 1949)
- Quint, Howard The Forging of American Socialism: Origins of the Modern Movement: The Impact of Socialism on American Thought and Action, 1886-1901 (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1953)