Louis Waldman

Louis Waldmann (around 1915)

Louis Waldman (born January 5, 1892 , † September 12, 1982 in New York City ) was a leader in the Socialist Party of America and a prominent lawyer for labor law .

biography

Waldman was born in Ukraine . As a teenager he moved to New York City . After first attending an engineering school, he later switched to studying law . In 1917 he was elected to the New York State Assembly as a socialist and confirmed in this capacity in 1919. In 1919 all five socialist members were expelled.

Waldman was the leader of an anti-communist wing of the American Socialist Party . He was also a great opponent of Leon Trotsky when he lived in Manhattan and was active in the party there.

He became chairman of the New York State Socialist Party in 1928 and was also a candidate for governor that year and 1932 . During this time, he quickly became a leader in the party's "old guard", which opposed the positions of the militant wing, which was largely occupied by youth. This wing wanted a reunification with the Communist Party of the USA . The "old guard" left the party after the militant wing gained control of the party in 1934. After leaving, they founded the Social Democratic Federation (SDF).

Many members of the SDF joined the American Labor Party (ALP) when it was founded in 1936 and supported the party's wing led by David Dubinsky . Waldman, however, left the ALP in 1940 as he felt the party was coming under the control of the pro-communist wing led by Sidney Hillman . Less than four years later, Dubinsky and his supporters came to the same conclusion and resigned from the party to form the Liberal Party of New York .

After leaving the ALP, Waldman had practically no ties to politics, which is why he devoted himself entirely to the legal profession. In his work, he was a strong advocate for workers' rights and served on numerous commissions in New York State . He practiced the legal profession until his death in 1982.