Local Dayton Socialist Party Records

Between the years 1901 and 1912, the Socialist Party of America enjoyed continuous growth and exerted a wide impact upon the political life of the nation. Starting with 10,000 members in 1901, the party had grown to 118,000 by 1912, had elected some 12,000 public officials throughout the United States, and was publishing over 300 periodicals of all kinds. In the labor movement, and in many of the reform movements of the period, Socialists held positions of prominence and had won substantial followings. Many Socialists looked forward to the continuing expansion of their party, fully expecting it to become a dominant force in American politics. During the next decade, however, the Party not only ceased to grow, but by the mid 1920's, had almost ceased to exist.

The evolution of the Socialist Party in Dayton followed a similar pattern of growth and demise. The roots of the Party can be traced to the formation of a Social Democratic Party in 1899. The charter members of this organization were six Dayton workingmen, members of a substantial working class community of German descent from which the Party would draw a large share of its early supporters. Voicing their disillusionment with the present two party system, these men felt that their newly emerging class had interests which were not being represented in traditional Dayton politics.

By 1902, the new political party had changed its name to the Local Dayton Socialist Party and begun to run candidates for local offices. During its tenure in Dayton, the Socialist Party was well organized, held regular meetings, ran candidates in local elections, and, from 1912 until 1924, published a Party newspaper, the Miami Valley Socialist.

The years 1911 12 marked the peak of the Socialists' power and influence in Dayton politics. Actual membership in the Party was nearly 600 at this time, and in the municipal election of 1911, Socialist candidates were elected to two City Council seats and three Assessor positions. Eugene V. Debs, the Socialist candidate for president, received over 6,000 votes in Dayton in the 1912 Presidential election, but the municipal victories of 1911 were to be the first and last the Socialists would enjoy here. In 1913, the change over to a non partisan, manager type city government, in which commissioners were to be elected on a city wide basis, deprived the Dayton Socialists of much of their political power which had been based on the old system of electing a Councilman from each ward. Other factors contributing to the Socialists' decline, locally as well as nationally, were right left ideological conflicts and the incorporation of some of Socialism's basic issues into the platforms of the progressive wings of the major political parties.

Throughout the decade, the official stance of the Party in Dayton remained moderate, and the local Socialists took only a mild anti war stand in 1917. Consequently, they escaped much of the repression suffered by radicals during the war years and in the following "Red Scare" that swept Ohio and the country.

The election of 1921 was the last in which the Socialists made any showing in Dayton, and membership at this time had dwindled to 200 members, with about 50 consistently active. In 1924, the Local Dayton Socialist Party backed Robert LaFollette's Progressive Farmer Labor candidacy for the Presidency and ran its last slate of candidates for city wide office. In the same year, the Miami Valley Socialist stopped publication.

The Local Dayton Socialist Party experienced a small resurgence during the early depression years. Membership swelled to 400, but then fell to less than 100 members, with only about 14 people very active by 1936.

During the late 30's, many Socialists took an active part in helping the C.I.O. form the first industrial unions in Dayton. At this time, conflicts between Communists and Socialists became open and hostile as the large electrical unions at Delco, Frigidaire and other plants were being organized.