Olive Johnson
Encyclopedia
Olive Malmberg Johnson was an American socialist, newspaper editor and political activist. She is best remembered as a long-time editor of the weekly English-language newspaper of the Socialist Labor Party of America
.
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
.
Olive joined the Socialist Labor Party of America
(SLP) in 1895. She acted as a lecturer and speaker on behalf of the party beginning in 1898. She worked variously as a retail clerk, restaurant worker, office worker, housekeeper, and teacher.
Malmberg was married to another member party member by the name of Johnson, took his name, and moved with him to California
. The Johnsons' marriage eventually ended, but as was the custom of the day, Olive kept her former husband's surname after its dissolution. She never remarried.
Johnson attended Hunter College
in New York City
, from which she obtained a bachelor's degree
in 1916, at the age of 44. She later did graduate course work at Columbia University
and New York University
.
(1852–1914). She was first elected a member of the governing National Executive Committee of the SLP in 1904, remaining in that capacity until 1912. She joined DeLeon as a delegate of the SLP to the 1910 Copenhagen Congress of the Second International
and was a delegate to many of the SLP's quadrennial national conventions, beginning in 1904.
Johnson was also close to Arnold Petersen
(1885–1976), the Danish-born successor to Daniel DeLeon's mantle as top leader of the Socialist Labor Party. In 1918 Johnson was named editor of the SLP's official newspaper, The Weekly People, replacing Edmond Seidel, who had begun advocating merger with the leftward tilting Socialist Party of America
. She remained in that position for 20 years, also writing many articles and pamphlets on behalf of the party. A number of Johnson's pamphlets were translated into Swedish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Croatian by the various foreign language federations
of the SLP.
As editor of the SLP's official organ, Johnson continued to advocate a harsh line towards other political organizations on the left. Historian Ben Perry notes:
On the SLP ticket, Johnson ran for Governor of New York
in 1918, for Mayor of New York City
in 1929, and for U.S. Senator from New York in 1934.
Johnson was elected by the SLP as its fraternal delegate to the 3rd World Congress of the Communist International in 1922, but was refused a passport to travel by the American government.
In the early 1930s Johnson contracted tuberculosis
, a disease which sapped her vitality, and she was forced to handle the editorial tasks of The Weekly People more and more from her home. In 1938 she retired from editing the newspaper.
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...
.
Biography
Olive Malberg was born March 14, 1872 in Lund, Sweden, the daughter of a merchant. The family emigrated to the United States in the 1890s, with Olive graduating high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
.
Olive joined the Socialist Labor Party of America
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...
(SLP) in 1895. She acted as a lecturer and speaker on behalf of the party beginning in 1898. She worked variously as a retail clerk, restaurant worker, office worker, housekeeper, and teacher.
Malmberg was married to another member party member by the name of Johnson, took his name, and moved with him to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The Johnsons' marriage eventually ended, but as was the custom of the day, Olive kept her former husband's surname after its dissolution. She never remarried.
Johnson attended Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, from which she obtained a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1916, at the age of 44. She later did graduate course work at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
Political career
Johnson was a close friend and trusted political associate of party leader Daniel DeLeonDaniel 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...
(1852–1914). She was first elected a member of the governing National Executive Committee of the SLP in 1904, remaining in that capacity until 1912. She joined DeLeon as a delegate of the SLP to the 1910 Copenhagen Congress of the Second International
Second International
The Second International , the original Socialist International, was an organization of socialist and labour parties formed in Paris on July 14, 1889. At the Paris meeting delegations from 20 countries participated...
and was a delegate to many of the SLP's quadrennial national conventions, beginning in 1904.
Johnson was also close to Arnold Petersen
Arnold Petersen
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.-Biography:Arnold Petersen was born in Odense, Denmark,...
(1885–1976), the Danish-born successor to Daniel DeLeon's mantle as top leader of the Socialist Labor Party. In 1918 Johnson was named editor of the SLP's official newspaper, The Weekly People, replacing Edmond Seidel, who had begun advocating merger with the leftward tilting Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
. She remained in that position for 20 years, also writing many articles and pamphlets on behalf of the party. A number of Johnson's pamphlets were translated into Swedish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Croatian by the various foreign language federations
Language federation
Language Federations were formed in the late 19th and early 20th century by immigrants to the United States, primarily from Eastern and Southern Europe, who shared a commitment to some form of socialist politics...
of the SLP.
As editor of the SLP's official organ, Johnson continued to advocate a harsh line towards other political organizations on the left. Historian Ben Perry notes:
"Her editorial positions were especially hostile to the CommunistCommunist Party USAThe Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
and Socialist parties and the anti-political Industrial Workers of the WorldIndustrial Workers of the WorldThe Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
, but she also condemned the CIOCongress of Industrial OrganizationsThe Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
as well as non-revolutionary movements such as the cooperative movement and the New DealNew DealThe New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
. She was very active during this period, not only as editor, but also as a pamphlet writer, speaker, and candidate for public office."
On the SLP ticket, Johnson ran for Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
in 1918, for Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
in 1929, and for U.S. Senator from New York in 1934.
Johnson was elected by the SLP as its fraternal delegate to the 3rd World Congress of the Communist International in 1922, but was refused a passport to travel by the American government.
In the early 1930s Johnson contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, a disease which sapped her vitality, and she was forced to handle the editorial tasks of The Weekly People more and more from her home. In 1938 she retired from editing the newspaper.
Death and legacy
Olive M. Johnson died in Malibu, California on June 16, 1954, at 82 years of age. Her ashes were scattered at Topanga Canyon, California where she had lived with her brother Nils Malmberg for several years.Books and pamphlets
- Woman and the Socialist Movement. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1908.
- Americanism: An Open Letter to the Board of Education, New York. New York : Socialist Labor Party, 1920.
- Revolution: "Dictatorship" and "Suppression" Incidental to Social Progress. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1923.
- Daniel De Leon, American Socialist Pathfinder. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1923.
- The Cooperative Movement: An Infantile Disorder and an Old-Age Disease. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1924.
- The Socialist Party: A Quarter Century Later: From the Kangaroo Exodus to La Follette. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1924.
- Karl Marx: Forty years After (1883-1923). With Daniel DeLeon. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1924.
- The Soviet Revolution, 1917-1927: A Historical Comparison. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1927.
- Russia in Revolution: Selected Editorials. With Daniel DeLeon. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1927.
- The Reform Vote versus the Revolutionary Vote: The Socialist Party - Workers (Communist) Party: Petty Bourgeois Twins Contrasted with the Revolutionary Socialist Labor Party. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1929.
- The Spy in the Labor Movement: Essays. With Paul LaFargue. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1929.
- Industrial Government: Industrial Feudal Autocracy versus Industrial Democracy. With Arnold Petersen. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1930.
- The Socialist Labor Party during Four Decades: 1890-1930. With Henry Kuhn. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1931.
- Americanism: Reaction Subverting the Constitution and the American Tradition. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1935.
- Industrial Unionism. With Thomas Grady. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1935.
- The Virus of Anarchy: Bakuninism vs. Marxism. With Arnold Petersen. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1935.
- May Day vs. Labor Day: A Comparison of the Social Significance of the Two Days of Labor Celebration. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1936.
- Revolution. With Arnold Petersen. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1936.