Socialism in America from the Shakers to the Third International: A Documentary History

Edited by Albert Fried

Socialism in America is a thematic presentation of the various types of socialism, such as Communitarian, Christian, Marxist, and Anarcho-Communist, that have existed in the United States from the time of the Revolutionary War to 1919. The documents included demonstrate how socialism wsa an integral part of the American past: because its ideals were embedded in the birth of America, it authentically expressed the American egalitarian norm.

The documents demonstrate that each type of socialism has a counterpart in a broadly based contemporary social movement: for example, religious communities were linked to revivalism and millenarianism. Ultimately, the collapse of socialism in America was tied to the country's conservative mood in the 1890s and World War I.

Related Subjects

• American History

About the Author

Albert Fried"s books include The Essential Lincoln, The Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian Traditions in American Politics, and The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America. He divides his time between teaching American History at the State Universsity of New York at Purchase and writing.

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