The early years of the twentieth century are often thought of as socialism's first heyday in
the United States when the Socialist Party won elections across the country and Eugene Debs
ran for president from a prison cell winning more than 900 000 votes. Less well-known is the
socialist revival of the 1930s. Radicalized by the contradiction of crushing poverty and
unimaginable wealth that existed side by side during the Great Depression socialists built
institutions organized the unemployed extended aid to the labor movement developed local
political movements and built networks that would remain active in the struggle against
injustice throughout the twentieth century. Jake Altman brings this overlooked moment in the
history of the American left into focus highlighting the leadership of women the development
of the Highlander Folk School and Soviet House and the shift from revolutionary rhetoric to
pragmatic reform by the close of the decade. As another socialist revival takes shape today
this book lays the groundwork for a more nuanced history of the movement in the United States.
