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American Workers League

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Unbandito (talk | contribs) at 03:17, 25 October 2023 (Obermann says that the Mechanics Hall is at 160 Hester Street, which is in New York not Philadelphia.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The American Workers League (German: Amerikanische Arbeiterbund) was an American nineteenth century workers political organization.

The league was founded in 1853 by 800 German American delegates who attended the inaugural meeting in the Mechanics Hall in New York City.[1]

Among their leaders was Joseph Weydemeyer, a longtime friend of Karl Marx.[2][3] The organization adopted an egalitarian membership policy holding that all workers who live in the United States without distinction of occupation, language, color, or sex can become members.[2] They opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act because it had the effect of allowing slavery in the lands opening up in the American West.[3]

References

  1. ^ Obermann, Karl (1947). Joseph Weydemeyer: Pioneer of American Socialism. New York: International Publishers. pp. 55–57.
  2. ^ a b Blackburn, Robin (2011). An Unfinished Revolution: Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln. London: Verso. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-84467-722-1.
  3. ^ a b Alison Clark Efford (20 May 2013). German Immigrants, Race, and Citizenship in the Civil War Era. Cambridge University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-107-03193-7.