1944 Communist National Convention

1944 Communist File:1944 portrait of FDR (1)(small).jpg Endorsed for president: Roosevelt (the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party) May 20–22, 1944 Riverside Plaza Hotel (working sessions)Madison Square Garden (closing rally) Manhattan, New York City, New York Franklin D. Roosevelt New York endorsed 1940 1948 400 Earl Browder The 1944 Communist National Convention was held May 20–22, 1944, in New York City. The convention endorsed the re-election of incumbent president Franklin D. Roosevelt (a Democrat) and saw Communist Party USA restructure as a non-party organization. Background In 1944, Communist Party USA reached its peak membership of 80,000.Belknap, Michal R., "Foley Square Trial", in American Political Trials, (Michal Belknap, Ed.), Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994, 978-0-275-94437-7, pages 209–210Hoover, J. Edgar, Masters of Deceit: the Story of Communism in America and How to Fight It, Pocket Books, 1958, p 5 (80,000 peak in 1944). The convention took place amid American involvement in World War II. Logistics thumb|Building of the former Riverside Plaza Hotel (defunct), the venue of the working sessions thumb|Postcard of Madison Square Garden, the venue of the closing rally The convention was held in New York City on May 20–22, 1944Minutes of the Communist Party Convention, Saturday, May 20, 1944 https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/parties/cpusa/1944/05/0520-cpusa-convminutes.pdf Marxists.org June 2, 2026 1944 The convention featured 400 delegates. Most sessions of the convention were held at the Riverside Plaza Hotel.Reds Vote To Oust All Foes Of Nation; Constitution of Association Succeeding Communist Party Opens Membership to All Those Over 18 Eligible Labor Leaders Hitherto Denying Link to Group Present at Convention Sessions https://www.nytimes.com/1944/05/22/archives/reds-vote-to-oust-all-foes-of-nation-constitution-of-association.html The New York Times June 24, 2026 May 22, 1944 Convention business was held in a ballroom that was adorned with the national flags of the United States, Great Britain, China, and the Soviet Union; as well as a large banner of a group portrait taken at the Tehran Conference of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.Communist Party in U.S. Folds; Backs FDR https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD19440521-01.2.72&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7CtxCO%7CtxTA--------0------ The Rocky Mountain News The Associated Press Newspapers.com June 24, 2026 May 21, 1944 The closing rally of the convention was held at Madison Square Garden. The keynote address was delivered by the party's general secretary, Earl Browder.Communists Disband Party in U.S.; Back Roosevelt for Fourth Term; Leaders AT Communist Convention Here Communists Quit As Political Party https://www.nytimes.com/1944/05/21/archives/communists-disband-party-in-us-back-roosevelt-for-fourth-term.html The New York Times June 29, 2026 May 21, 944 Nomination of Roosevelt and party restructuring The convention saw the party organizationally endorse incumbent president Franklin D. Roosevelt for re-election, and also disband and reassemble to form a new organization, tentatively named the "Communist Political Association". The organization would be reformed as a non-party association for political education that would support Roosevelt's re-election Party General Secretary Earl Browder (its general secretary and past nominee for president in the previous two presidential elections) introduced the formal motion to do so, which was adopted.Moore Barrington The Communist Party of the USA; An Analysis of a Social Movement The American Political Science Review 1945 39 1 31–41 10.2307/1948827 https://www.jstor.org/stable/1948827 June 24, 2026 0003-0554 Browder delivered a 90-minute address to the convention in which he touted the restructuring of the party and decision to endorse Roosevelt as historic in nature, and in the best interest of national unity. He declared that the American communists were disbanding "all aims of partisan advancement for themselves". References Communist National Convention Category:National conventions of the Communist Party USA Communist National Convention Category:United States presidential nominating conventions in New York City Category:Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt