International Labor Defense

The International Labor Defense (ILD) was a legal defense organization in the United States, headed by William L. Patterson. It was a US section of International Red Aid organisation, and associated with the Communist Party USA. It defended Sacco and Vanzetti, was active in the civil rights and anti-lynching movements, and participated in the defense of the Scottsboro Boys. It was formed in 1925, and in 1946 merged with the National Federation for Constitutional Liberties to form the Civil Rights Congress.

Max Shachtman was an editor of the ILD's magazine, the Labor Defender, during the 1920s; Whittaker Chambers and Jacob Burck were contributing editors during the early 1930s.

See also

• Max Schachtman
• Whittaker Chambers
• Jacob Burck

External links

• International Labor Defense (1925 - 1946). Organizational history and document archive at Early American Marxist History archive. Retrieved August 25, 2006.
• International Labor Defense Activities (1 January-1 July 1928). By Martin Abern. From James P. Cannon and the Early Years of American Communism. Selected Writings and Speeches, 1920-1928. Spartacist Publishing Company, 1992. ISBN 0-9633828-1-0.
• International Labor Defense. Scottsboro: An American Tragedy. The American Experience, Public Broadcasting Service, 1999.
• The International Labor Defense, its Constitution and Organization Resolution : adopted by the Fourth National Convention New York : International Labor Defense,

See also

• International Red Aid (MOPR)
• Executive Committee of the Communist International