September 1, 2008, marked the end of one of America's most prolific third parties. It was the day the Socialist Labor Party closed its national office.
The SLP was the oldest socialist party in the U.S., originally called the Workingmen's Party of America and established in 1876. The name was changed in 1877 and operated ever since as the Socialist Labor Party, advocating fundamental transformation of society through the combined political and industrial action of the working class in industrial unions.
The SLP nominated its first national ticket in 1892, nominating Simon Wing for president and Charles H. Matchett for vice president. I didn't realize until researching that the SLP has, without fail, nominated national candidates every four years hence, through 1976. Restrictive ballot laws in most states forced the party to abandon nominating national candidates following the 1976 campaign.
| Year | For President | For Vice-President | Votes Reported | States on Ballot |
| 1892 | Simon Wing, Mass. | Charles H. Matchett, N.Y. | 21,173 | 5 |
| 1896 | Charles H. Matchett, N.Y. | Matthew Maguire, N.J. | 36,367 | 20 |
| 1900 | Joseph F. Malloney, Mass. | Valentine Remmel, Pa. | 33,382 | 22 |
| 1904 | Charles H. Corregan, N.Y. | William W. Cox, Ill. | 33,510 | 19 |
| 1908 | August Gillhaus, N.Y. | Donald L. Munro, Va. | 14,029 | 15 |
| 1912 | Arthur E. Reimer, Mass. | August Gillhaus, N.Y. | 29,213 | 20 |
| 1916 | Arthur E. Reimer, Mass. | Caleb Harrison, Ill. | 14,670 | 17 |
| 1920 | William W. Cox, Mo. | August Gillhaus, N.Y. | 30,513 | 14 |
| 1924 | Frank T. Johns, Ore. | Verne L. Reynolds, Md. | 33,883 | 19 |
| 1928 | Verne L. Reynolds, Mich. | Jeremiah D. Crowley, N.Y. | 21,590 | 19 |
| 1932 | Verne L. Reynolds, N.Y. | John W. Aiken, Mass. | 34,038 | 19 |
| 1936 | John W. Aiken, Mass. | Emil F. Teichert, N.Y. | 12,788 | 18 |
| 1940 | John W. Aiken, Mass. | Aaron M. Orange, N.Y. | 14,883 | 14 |
| 1944 | Edward A. Teichert, Pa. | Arla A. Albaugh, Ohio | 45,336 | 15 |
| 1948 | Edward A. Teichert, Pa. | Stephen Emery, N.Y. | 29,272 | 22 |
| 1952 | Eric Hass, N.Y. | Stephen Emery, N.Y. | 30,426 | 23 |
| 1956 | Eric Hass, N.Y. | Georgia Cozzini, Wis. | 44,547 | 14 |
| 1960 | Eric Hass, N.Y. | Georgia Cozzini, Wis. | 47,647 | 15 |
| 1964 | Eric Hass, N.Y. | Henning A. Blomen, Mass. | 45,319 | 16 |
| 1968 | Henning A. Blomen, Mass. | George S. Taylor, Pa. | 52,588 | 13 |
| 1972 | Louis Fisher, Ill. | Genevieve Gunderson, Minn. | 53,831 | 12 |
| 1976 | Jules Levin, N.J. | Constance Blomen, Mass. | 9,265 | 10 |
As collectors, we are more aware of the SLP candidates from 1900-1916 and from 1960-1976, as these were the only years I am aware of that the party produced pinbacks for its presidential and/or vice presidential candidates, all of which are quite rare. If anyone knows of any SLP pinbacks (or any other ephemera, for that matter) produced before 1900 or from 1920-1956, please share.
Ideological differences within the membership came to a head in 1899, and a faction of the SLP left the party to merge with the Social Democratic Party, headed by Eugene Debs and Victor Berger, to form the Socialist Party of America. Debs and Job Harriman headed the Socialist ticket in 1900 and received nearly 88,000 votes (as compared to 33,000 votes received by the SLP ticket of Malloney and Remmel).
Despite the setback and the dilution of its membership, the SLP continued, thanks in large part to the influence of Daniel DeLeon, a tireless voice for socialism and worker's rights. He was among the first to advocate an 8-hour work day. In 1892, DeLeon became editor of the SLP's official organ The Weekly People and continued to serve as its editor until his death in 1914. He was a founder of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1905. DeLeon was never a presidential candidate of the Socialist Labor Party but did run as the SLP candidate for governor of New York in 1892, 1902 and 1904, and for US Representative in 1894, 1896 and 1908. Although a political rival, Eugene Debs eulogized DeLeon:
“He was an uncompromising champion of economic and political organization, believing that only through their economic and political solidarity could the workers emancipate themselves from wage slavery. He fought the craft unions in and out of season, exposing without mercy their weakness and impotency, and he stood with equal insistence for revolutionary industrial organization. He was bold and pointed in his criticism, persistent in arguing his convictions, and tireless in fighting for what he believed to be right...His death leaves a vacancy that never can be filled.”
The SLP enjoyed some growth in the 1950's under the leadership of Eric Hass, who was the party's presidential nominee in 1952, 1956, 1960, and 1964. Hass outpolled all other third party candidates in 1964 (the only time the Socialist Labor Party had accomplished that feat). It was also during this time that we begin to see the SLP produce pinbacks and paper ephemera again.
A couple of interesting notes on SLP presidential candidates: the original presidential nominee in 1908 was Morris R. Preston, a miner who was arrested in 1907 on trumped-up murder chargers during a citywide strike in Goldfield, Nevada. He served 10 years of a 20-year sentence before being released in 1917, and was pardoned posthumously by the Nevada Supreme Court in 1982. Preston was replaced by August Gillhaus as the party's presidential candidate. In 1928 the SLP chose Frank T. Johns as its presidential candidate (he also headed the ticket in 1924). Johns drowned while attempting to rescue a child from the Deschutes River during an SLP campaign rally in Bend, Oregon. The child also drowned. Johns was replaced on the ticket by Verne L. Reynolds.
This week's offerings highlight some exceptional pinbacks issued by the Socialist Labor Party from about 1905 to 1968, which were, thankfully, salvaged from the SLP headquarters in New York City before they shut their doors forever.
