S I S T E R H O O D
I N
T H E
R E V O L U T I O N
The Holmes Sisters and the
ELIZABETH
O N MAY 14, 1944,
R A A S C H - G I LM A N
GRACE H O L M E S CARLSON
wrote to
h e r sister, Dorothy Holmes Schultz, "It's lucky that I
didn't know when I graduated from St. Catherine's that
I'd be in prison on the 15th anniversary of our Comm e n c e m e n t . I was much too d e p e n d e n t , much too petitbourgeois to have been able to encompass the situation
then. B u t . . . I would so much rather be myself, today,
sitting here than any one of the [particular students],
whose minds and souls are full of diy rot." When Schultz
r e s p o n d e d by sending a newspaper clipping showing
two sisters celebrating the anniversaiy of their graduation, Carlson replied, "The picture
. . and your com-
m e n t about being glad we took the road we did recalled
[Robert Frost's] poem to me
'I shall be telling this
with a sigh/Somewhere, ages and ages h e n c e / T w o roads
diverged in a wood and I / I took the road less travelled
b y / A n d that has made all the difference.' "^
Grace Carlson wrote from the Federal Correctional
Facility for Women in Alderson, West Virginia, con\acted
Sisters Grace Carlson and Dorothy Schultz, front row, listen
Intently at a Socialist Workers' Party meeting, about 1940.
Teamster leader Vincent Dunne (with hat) is next to Carlson;
the man at far right is probably Henry Schultz, Dorothy's husband.
358
Socialist Workers' Party
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of tiying to overthrow the U.S. g o v e r n m e n t by force
a n d violence. Like h e r sister, Dorothy, Grace b e l o n g e d
to the Socialist Workers' Party (SVVT), an openly revolutionary political g r o u p . Carlson a n d 17 of h e r comrades, all m e n , s h a r e d the d u b i o u s distinction of b e i n g
the first p e o p l e s e n t e n c e d u n d e r the Alien Registration,
or Smith, Act of 1940. In a n o t h e r ten years, this act
would b e used m o r e widely to discourage political dissent d m i n g the so-called McCarthy Era, b u t the tiny
SWP felt the first sting of the law.
Carlson was p e r h a p s the most p r o m i n e n t w o m a n
in the SWP at that time. H e r b a c k g r o u n d was o r d i n a i 7
e n o u g h , t h o u g h . Grace Marie H o l m e s was b o r n o n
N o v e m b e r 14, 1906, in St. Paul. H e r father, J a m e s A.
H o l m e s , was a semiskilled laborer of Irish descent. As
Grace a n d h e r y o u n g e r sister, Dorothy, were growing
tip, h e worked mainly for the Great N o r t h e r n Railway,
first as a boilermaker's assistant a n d t h e n as a boilerm a k e n T h e family lived in a largely R o m a n Catholic
working-class n e i g h b o r h o o d off Rice Street.Carlson's mother, Mary Nuebel H o l m e s , was a
G e r m a n i m m i g r a n t , a n d as a child Grace was very close
to h e r A l t h o u g h an invalid for most of h e r davighters'
c h i l d h o o d , she h a d strong intellectual interests, read
widely, a n d e n c o u r a g e d their education. Carlson
r e m e m b e r e d , "It was lucky for us that [my father] was
interested in m a k i n g a living so that we could go o n
to school."
In 1922 six craft u n i o n s associated with the railroads nationwide went o n strike to protest wage cutbacks a n d loosened work rules. Initiated by the workers
who m a d e e q u i p m e n t a n d serviced railroad cars, it
c a m e to be called the s h o p m e n ' s strike. T h e bitter
strike was o n e of a wave of large-scale actions in several
industries across the country that year, a n d the ultimate
defeat of most of t h e m dispirited organized labor for
m u c h of the d e c a d e . James H o l m e s participated in the
strike, a n d (Carlson r e m e m b e r e d feeling badly when
financial necessity forced him to cross the picket lines
a n d r e t u r n to work. H e r m o t h e r evidently p e r s u a d e d
H o l m e s to take his d a u g h t e r as an escort, h o p i n g that
the p r e s e n c e of a y o u n g woman would d e t e r any violence from the pickets. Afterwards, Carlson sought
Elizabeth Raasch-Gilman served as research associate for the
20th Century Radicalism in Minnesota Project of the Minnesota
Historical Society. Her biographical essay on her grandmother
Catheryne Cooke Oilman appeared in Women of Minnesota
(reprint, 1998).
360
MINNESOTA HISTORY
forgiveness from h e r priest, confessing that she h a d
h e l p e d to deprive the l a b o r e r of his wages. ( T h e puzzled priest absolved her.)^ This was a n indication,
t h o u g h , that by the age of 16 she was o n h e r way to
b e i n g a trade unionist.
Besides the t u r b u l e n c e of the s h o p m e n ' s strike,
Grace a n d Dorothy were exposed to polidcal influences from a n o t h e r - a n d unlikely-source. T h e H o l m e s
sisters a t t e n d e d R o m a n Catholic schools, a n d some of
their teachers were Irish immigrants. T h e 1910s saw an
u p s u r g e in Irish nationalism, c u l m i n a t i n g in a revolt
against British rule on Easter Sunday in 1916. T h e
Irish-born n u n s in St. Paul apparently m a d e n o secret
of their sympathies with the nationalists a n d conveyed
to their pupils an anti-British attitude. Carlson translated this into a vague distrust of all g o v e r n m e n t , a n d
when she e n t e r e d the College of St. C a t h e r i n e in 1925
she c o n s i d e r e d herself "an i n d e p e n d e n t thinker," if n o t
exactly a radical."*
After she left St. Catherine's in 1929, Grace went o n
to earn a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Minnesota in 1933 a n d stayed at the university for a n o t h e r
two years as a part-time teaching assistant. Dorothy
also c o m p l e t e d a bachelor's d e g r e e at St. Catherine's
a n d a master's in political science at the University of
Minnesota in 1933.^
T H E EARLY 19305, of course, was the b o t t o m of the
Great Depression. As u n e m p l o y m e n t gradually worse n e d a n d the administration of President H e r b e r t
Hoover vacillated in its a p p r o a c h to the p r o b l e m , more
a n d m o r e d e s p e r a t e workers cast a b o u t for new political solutions. Starting in 1930, the C o m m u n i s t PartyUSA l a u n c h e d an all-out organizing effort a m o n g the
u n e m p l o y e d , featuring marches, protests of e\ictions,
direct assistance to workers who n e e d e d relief, a n d
renewed efforts to organize in u n i o n s . In Minnesota,
p o p u l a r discontent resulted in the election of a thirdpart)' c a n d i d a t e as g o v e r n o r Farmer-Laborite Flovd B.
Olson took office in 1931 as the c h a m p i o n of the workers a n d farmers against the interests of big business.'^
T h e Comnimiist Party USA, which d a t e d back to
1919, h a d already w e a t h e r e d two splits. In 1928 o n e
splinter g r o u p was expelled for its sympathies wdth
Leon Trotsky, a n d in 1929 a n o t h e r e x p e r i e n c e d a similar fate for its sympathies with Nikolai Bukharin. Both
of these h e r o e s of the Russian Revolution were m a n e u vered out of leadership in the So\'iet Lhiion by Josef
Stalin, who consolidated his control of the Russian
( a n d worldwide) C o m m u n i s t Party in 1929.
T h e followers of Leon Trotsky were n o t easily disc o u r a g e d , h o w e v e r Trotsky himself, a powerful intellec-
came. The)- told me that 1 just d i d n ' t know what I was
doing; that this was led b) the CP. Well, at that stage
it just seemed to me it was a good thing to participate
in this h u n g e r march . . . [To the Trotsk\-ists]
polemics counted more than the ideas, in a sense.
It wasn't just winning )-ou oxer to socialism; it was
winning \-ou o\-er to [the Trotsk)-ist] branch of socialism. Well, when I finallv was won over and became
part of the whole mo\-ement, 1 became that way
myself, as far as that goes. "'^
Leon T r o t s k y , whose Intellect and charisma inspired a
worldwide socialist m o v e m e n t , 1930s
mal a n d charismatic leader, escaped from the Soriet
U n i o n a n d ultimateh' took u p residence in Mexico.
F r o m this distance h e issued a stream of books, articles,
a n d speeches d e n o u n c i n g Stalin's g o v e r n m e n t for its
bureaucracy a n d brutality. \ATiile e n d o r s i n g the Russian
Revolution a n d the leadership of \ l a d i m i r Illych Lenin,
Trotsky m a i n t a i n e d that Stalin h a d c o r r u p t e d a n d
betrayed the true \ision of c o m m u n i s m . He worked
tirelessly to build an international commimist alternative to the So\-iet-dominated C o m m u n i s t Party (CP).
Trotskv acquired a small b u t intensely loval following in
the U.S.-and in Minnesota."
T h e differences between the Communists a n d
the Trotskyists s e e m e d minuscule to most observers,
t h o u g h both p a r d e s m a d e m u c h of t h e m , each hurling
invective at the o t h e r Grace Carlson r e m e m b e r e d
b e i n g confused on the subtleties at first:
They would start h a r a n g u i n g me about what was
wrong with the CP. O n e time, there was some kind of
a march on the state capitol . . a h u n g e r march . .
and I went to it and the Trotskyists, n o n e of them
In the mid-1930s, socialist philosoph)' p r e s e n t e d a
powerful a n d attractive option to idealistic y o u n g p e o ple like the H o l m e s sisters a n d to fearful workers. T h e
Trotskvists established a base in the I n t e r n a t i o n a l
B r o t h e r h o o d of Teamsters in Minneapolis, a n d in 1934
they e n g i n e e r e d a series of dramatic strikes that boldly
challenged the power of employers w h o h a d m a n a g e d
to k e e p Minneapolis a largelv n o n u n i o n i z e d cit\-. With
a c o m b i n a t i o n of careful p l a n n i n g , g o o d timing, a n d
biilliant strategy. Local 574 of the teamsters' u n i o n
m a n a g e d to force the firms that employed drivers to
the bargaining table. T h e low-skilled, seasonally emploved teamsters won b o t h the right to u n i o n represent a d o n a n d substandal i m p r o v e m e n t s in pay a n d working conditions. Trotskrists like Farrell Dobbs, Vincent
(Rav) D u n n e , Miles D u n n e , a n d Carl Skoglund prorided m u c h of the know-how a n d h a r d work b e h i n d
the teamsters' rictories.^
Dorothv a n d Grace H o l m e s watched these exciting
events from the L^niversits' of Minnesota. T h r o u g h
h e r political-science professors, Dorothv b e c a m e
a c q u a i n t e d with some Trotskyist students, a n d b o t h
sisters b e g a n to a t t e n d their o p e n meetings. Grace
recalled, "[At their] h e a d q u a r t e r s the\- d talk a b o u t the
strike a n d about political events a n d so forth. I b e c a m e
veiT interested in their p r o g r a m a n d in the p e o p l e , like
Vincent D u n n e a n d the others. Thev s e e m e d to be so
m u c h stronger characters than the politicians that 1
came to know- in the Farmer-Laljor Part)."'"
T h e spring of 1934 must have b e e n full of promise.
Wliile Grace was discovering the Trotskrists she was also
falling lo\-e with Gilbert Carlson, a law- s t u d e n t w h o m
she apparentl)- met at the unixersin. The\- were m a r r i e d
that s u m m e r a n d for a few )ears Cilbcrt s e n e d as the
attorne)- for Local 574. In the m e a n d m e , Dorothv
Holmes also m e t h e r f u t m e h u s b a n d , H e n n - Schultz,
t h r o u g h her s u p p o r t activides for the t e a m s t e r s . "
T H E TRO'rsK-\-iST nEXERMiNATiON to organize Minneapolis's teamsters a n d allied workers (such as warehouse
workers a n d ga.s-station emplovees) did not allow m a n v
FALL19Q0
361
Vincent Dunne, arrested by national guardsmen for his role in t h e i y i 4 r i i n n e a p o i i s t r u c K e r s scrii<e, on his way t o t n e
t e m p o r a r y military s t o c k a d e at t h e s t a t e fairgrounds in St. Paul
axenues for women to build their leadership skills.
Teamsters were, of coiuse, men, and while women
provided significant support dming the strikes, they
played no leadership role in the teamsters' union,
either locally c^r nationally. Similarlv, thev took a distinct back seat in the Trotskyist party. As historian
(loiistance Ashton Myers wrote of the period before
U.S. entry into the Second World War, "The post of
district organizer or a rare local candidacy (or office
appeared the ceiling to which a female IVotskyist could
aspire." From 1929 througli 1941, no women sat on
either the large, elected national committee or tlie
smaller, appointed |:)olilical committee; "Despite Marxist theoi7 which enjoins female ec|uality, pressures from
the social enxironment and the lealilies ofday-lo-day
survival made women Trotskyists accept williout resistance a subordinate place," Myers concluded.'-'
The entrance of promising women into the party
did not go unnoticed, however (Charles R. Walker a
362
MINNESOTA HISTORY
journalist for the Trotskvist press assigned to cover the
teamsters' strikes, sent back to the New York office a
very favorable opinion of Grace Carlson. He added that
her sister was even more impressive. \'incent Dunne
gave Carlson considerable tutoring; she credited him
for trying to teach her patience (though she was not
sure how well he had succeeded).'' Nonetheless,
Dorothy Schultz's career in the parn tmtil the Second
World War was more npical for a woman than Carlson's:
while Carlson l)ecame a fiery public speaker, Schultz
did more Ijehind-the-scenes work. The birth of a
daughter in 1938 and a son in 1942 also kept Schultz
closer to home. (Carlson never had children.)
Although organizing within the International
Brolherhood of Teamsters was closed off to her, Carlson did tr)- her hand at union organizing. In June 1935
she took a full-time job as a vttcational rehabilitation
coimseloi- with the Minnesota Department of Education. There she helped patients recovering from crip-
pling illnesses to get retraining and find steady employment. At work, Carlson made no secret of her pohdcal
beliefs, and when state employees began to organize a
union in 1937, she was in the lead. She was a charter
member of the American State, County, and Municipal
Employees' L^nion Local 10 and served on its exectidve
board for two years. She also was a member of the executive committee of the St. Paul branch of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People
( N J \ A C P ) . Both of these acti\ities gave her valuable
experience in organizing and allowed her to claim that
she was a "militant trade unionist"—an essential credential for anv Trotskvist.'-'
Articulate, intelligent, and hard working, Carlson
quicklv found a place for herself in the parts'. Less than
two years after she had officiallyjoined the Trotskyists
within the Socialist Party in 1936, she attended the
founding convention of the Socialist Workers' Part)'
(see sidebar, page 364).
In August 1940—and, coincidentallv, the dav after
TroLskv was assassinated—Grace resigned from her job
and became the state organizer for the SWT. A few days
later she filed as a candidate for the U.S. Senate on the
Trotskyist .-Vnti-War Party ticket. The publicity from her
filing fueled the ongoing feud between the state Board
of Education and Carlson's former boss. Commissioner
of Education John G Rockwell.
The board suspended Rockwell at
the end of November and a month
later commenced a sensational
public investigation into his competence as commissioner The
media and the hearings themselves paid a good deal of attention to the fact that Rockwell had
tolerated a Trotskyist in the education department for several years.
In the meantime, Carlson polled
nearly 9,000 votes in the senatorial
elecdon—a small showing next to
the major parties, but larger than
the Communist candidate—a fact
that gave the SWT considerable
satisfaction.'-''
To further introduce this rising
star to members of the Socialist
Workers' Party, the New York
office ("the center") sent Carlson
on a coast-to-coast speaking tour
in the spring of 1941. Her trip culW o m e n preparing
minated with a visit to Natalia
Sedova Trotsky in Mexico. The
Minneapolis, 1934
"Old Man's" widow comn-ianded some authorit)' in the
U.S. part)-, and a trip to Mexico was something like a
pilgrimage. This visit marked the beginning of a cordial correspondence between the two women."'
in 1941, U.S. entry
into the Second World War seemed more and more
likely. W^ien Adolf Hitler enlarged the scope of conflict
in June b\' breaking his secret pact with Stalin and
invading the Soviet Union, the U.S. Communist Part)'
did one of the political about-faces for which it was
justlv famous. .Almost instantlv, it changed from loud
opposition to U.S. involvement in the war to loud support. The SWT, wishing to strengthen the Marxist revolution in the Soviet Union without strengthening
Stalin's grip on power, continued to oppose U.S. entry.
This put the tiny SWP on a collision course with the
U.S. government.'"
The first trouble came from a nongovernmental
quarter Local 574 of the Teamsters, where the Dunnes
still held a good deal of influence, had long been at
odds with the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Daniel Tobin. Tobin had tried to
undercut the Trotskyists" authoritv as earlv as 1936,
but the rank-and-file drivers had great personal lovalty
to their leaders. In that round, Tobin was forced to
WHH.E CARLSON WAS TRAVELING
food for truckers and supporters at the strike commissary,
FALL UW
363
E V O L U T I O N OF T H E S O C I A L I S T
W O R K E R S ' PARTY
not Trotskyists. D u e to repeated subscription drives
by party m e m b e r s . The Militant usually h a d a circulaParty, t h e Trotskyists went by several o t h e r names.
tion of several thousand copies. The Fourth Interna"When J a m e s C a n n o n a n d his followers were expelled
tional yi2iS a denser, m o r e analytical publication,
from the Communist Party in 1928, they called themwhich often reprinted statements a n d articles by
selves t h e Communist League of America a n d tried
Trotsky. Grace Carlson wrote for both publications,
to persuade other Communists to j o i n them.
mainly exposing how capitalism u n d e r m i n e d workTrotsk)ist involvement in t h e Minneapolis truckers'
ers' health.
strike of 1934, along with a restaurant strike in New
York, m a r k e d a turning point for the CLA. It began
In Minnesota, Trotskyists a n d their sympathizers
to attract workers who h a d never b e e n Communists
also staffed a n d edited the Teamsters' newspaper.
a n d to exert some influence in t h e labor movement.
The Northwest Organizer, the main English-language
leftist labor p a p e r in t h e state until the CP started
C a n n o n l a u n c h e d an aggressive recruitment
publishing Midwest Labor \n 1937. Although n o t
effort, which involved j o i n i n g with other nonovertly factional, the weekly Northwest Organizer's
Stalinist radical pardes. Late in 1934 t h e CLA
militant tone a n d harsh critiques of the labor hierarm e r g e d into the American Workers Party, which h a d
chy, craft unionism, a n d Communists reflected the
also b e e n organizing a n d supporting strikes. T h e r e
Trotskyist line. It ceased publication in 1941, a casuthe Trotskyists stayed a n d went by the Workers Party
alty of the Smith Act arrests a n d trial. Daniel Tobin,
n a m e until 1936, when they struck an uneasy alliance
international president of the Teamsters' union,
with N o r m a n T h o m a s a n d entered the Socialist
probably breathed a sigh of relief.
Party. (Hence, when Grace Carlson a n d Dorothy
Schultz became card-carrying Trotskyists, they j o i n e d
SOURCES: Tim Wohlforth, 'Trotskyism," in Mari Jo Buhle,
the Socialist Party.) Early in 1938 the Trotskyists
Paul Buhle, and Dan Georgakas, The Encyclopedia of the
formed a new party, using parts of their most recent
American Left, 782-85; Alan Wald, The New York Intellectuals.
names: the Socialist Workers' Party. Ever since, the
Trotskyists have b e e n known by that n a m e .
Each time they merged with another
g r o u p a n d then left it, the Trotskyists took
some of the other party's followers with
GfiyQCE CARLSONIDOQOTHY SCHULTZ
t h e m — n o t a recruitment technique that
U.S.SE NA TE T U. 5. CONGRESS
m a d e them popular in the anti-Stalinist
Left. In some kind of poetic justice, Trotskyists also continuously lost members
through internal struggles. In 1936 o n e
faction walked o u t of the movement to
form its own small party, a n d in 1940 the
Socialist Workers' Party split almost in half
This time the departing faction formed a
second Workers Party, which continued to
rival the SWP a n d attract its disaffected
m e m b e r s for most of the decade.
BEFORE T H E FORMATION of the Socialist W o r k e r s '
VU I H LMBUK
T h e names of Trotskyist publications
changed along with their affiliations. T h e
CLA published a weekly newspaper called
The Militant, which became the Socialist
Appea I and a.g3.m The Mi litem t in 1941. (It is
published u n d e r that n a m e today.) During
the 1930s a n d 1940s Trotskyists also p u t
out a monthly theoretical j o u r n a l , first
called The New International, then The
Fourth International, a n d finally the International Socialist Review. The Militant covered
current news from a radical perspective
and appealed to many readers who were
Socialist W o r k e r s ' Party campaign headquarters, 540 Cedar
Street, St. Paul, 1946
Til umlrmhti»» <TB
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UlNNEAPOLtS. UINN , SATURDAY, JUNK 38 I H l
PrlM 3 e m u :.
Socialist Worker Party Offices
Here Raided by U. S. Marshals
accept that the Minneapolis teamsters wanted
the Dunnes, Farrell
Dobbs, and Carl Skoglund
to guide them."^
At the teamsters'
2 Red Flags Announcement Links
l.iliraliiif and t)lli«'r .Articles Seizetl at Loral Office
national convention in
and Trotzky Some 544-CIO Chiefs
September 1940, a series
Phoio Taken f„ Group Under Fire
of challenges h\ 'Vincent
Dunne and the Minneapolis local, now Local
544, caused Tobin to tiy
again to rid his union
of these radicals. The
conflict escalated through
the spring of 1941, coming to a head in June,
when an ovenvhelming
majority of Local 544's
members voted to secede
from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and join
their disloyalty.'-" The Trotskyists were to be the first test
the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Tobin,
case under this law.
a pillar of the AFL, was not pleased by the loss of
At least in public, the defendants were stoical about
approximately 5,500 members to the rival CIO and
their arrest. After all, many revolutionists had gone to
feared that the revolt would spread. As one part of his
prison in the making of the Russian Revolution, includcampaign to purge the Socialist Workers' Part)' from
ing Trotsky himself. WTiy should U.S. revolutionaries
the Teamsters for good, he appealed to his personal
expect any different treatment? Nonetheless, they
friend. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, for help. If the
explored legal channels, trying to get the charges
countr)- were to go to war, Tobin argued, the go\'erndropped. One of the defendants, Albert Goldman,
ment would have to rely on the Teamsters to deliver
acted as the main attorney, and Grace's husband
essential goods. The vast majority of them were, of
Gilbert was on the defense team. (By that time the
course, loyal, but these Trotskyists opposed U.S. enti7
Carlsons were estranged, although they remained
into the war and could not be trusted. Two weeks later,
legally married and friendly.) Once it was clear that the
on June 27, 1941, the Department of Justice raided the
case would go to trial, the defendants decided to use
offices of the SWT in Minneapolis and St. Paul, seizing
the occasion to explain Marxism to a larger atidience.
portraits of Lenin and Trotsky, pamphlets for sale, and
They \iewed the proceedings as a political trial, not a
books from the libraries. Grace Carlson was one of the
criminal one, and intended to make the most of their
people working in the Minneapolis office that day. A
time in the limelight. "We set out," wrote Felix Morrow,
month later she, Dorothy Schultz, and 27 of their comjournalist for the SWP's newspaper and magazine, "to
rades were indicted for advocating the overthrow of the
get those jurors to cease abhorring socialism and to
government through force and violence and attemptrecognize and respect the sincerity, sanity and seriousing to create an armed militia disguised as a Union
ness of the defendants and their ideas." Furthermore,
Defense Guard.'^
they insisted that the case sprung from a labor union
dispute and that the federal government had no right
The weapon that the government used against the
interfering. The prosecution of people like Grace
SWP was a new law called the Alien Registration Act,
Carlson (a party organizer not a teamster), James
or the Smith Act. The Smith Act required aliens over
Cannon (head of the SWP, who lived in New York),
the age of 14 to register and be fingerprinted; it
and Morrow was merely window-dressing, thev said, in
allowed criminals and subversives to be deported; and
order to disgtiise the prosecution of the labor leaders
it criminalized advocating the overthrow of the U.S.
who
had dared to cross Daniel Tobin.-'
government by force and violence. The law also made
it illegal to publish and distribute literature advising
For its part, the rival Commtmist Party was unable
servicemen to disobey regulations or contributing to
to overcome a sectarian response to the case. Its paper.
LEADERSHIP FACES CONSPIRACY CHARGE
Local OUtcitdi A c c u u r f o/ ' C m n i n j Coi
of Ltgitimtitm Labor Umory lo Utt
lot llUgitimatt
Pur pott t'
FALL IQW
365
the Daily Worker, i g n o r e d t h e indictments of t h e SWP
leaders for a full m o n t h a n d t h e n labeled t h e Trotskvists "the agents of fascism in this countr\-" a n d
a p p l a u d e d t h e g o \ e r n m e n i ' s prosecution. Ironically,
the CP's half-hearted d e n u n c i a t i o n of t h e Smith Act
paved t h e \\-ay for t h e prosecution of its own leaders
u n d e r t h e same law- in t h e 1950,s—as t h e liberal magazine The Nation w a r n e d m i g h t h a p p e n . Wliere t h e CP
was s t r o n g in C I O u n i o n s a n d C I O coimcils, as it was in
Minnesota, it used its influence to stop d o n a t i o n s to
the d e f e n d a n t s o r statements s u p p o r t i n g their cause.2'T H E TRIAL OF T H E 28 TROTSKVISTS o p e n e d in M i n n e -
apolis o n O c t o b e r 27, 1941. (Twent)-nine were originalh indicted, b u t Grant D u n n e , who h a d long suffered
from depression, killed himself o n O c t o b e r 5.) After
the prosecution rested its case, charges against five of
the defendants, including Dorothy Schultz, were
d r o p p e d for lack of e r i d e n c e . T h a t left Grace Carlson
as t h e only w o m a n still in t h e case. She was specificalh'
accused of tellii-ig m e m b e r s of t h e Socialist Club at the
Grace Carlson (right) and an unidentified woman leaving
SWP headquarters during the raid; picture from the front
page of the Minneapolis Tribune, June 28, 1941
LIni\'ersity of Minnesota that they should accept training u n d e r t h e Selective Service Act because "it would
be useful when t h e seizure of power came." O n Novemb e r 25 she took t h e stand to r e s p o n d to that charge.
T h e Minneapolis Daily Times described t h e scene:
Slim, sxelte Grace Carlson, t h e only woman defendant in the trial of 23 persons on charges of seditious
conspiracy, took the stand in federal court today to
admit frankly that she was a m e m b e r of the part)', in
fact state organizer, but to deny that the party's principles, or h e r own beliefs, called for a r m e d overthrow
of the government.
She cited h e r own candidacy for the Lhiited States
Senate on the "Trotskyist Aiti-War" ticket as proof of
her contention that the part)' was attempting to bring
about a revolution by ballot rather than by bullet.
H e r nei-vousness was evident as she told h e r story
. . . H e r voice was pitched a little high, h e r smile a
little strained; but h e r aiiswers were direct.
T h e defense also p r o d u c e d four m e m b e r s of t h e Socialist Club w h o d e n i e d that Carlson h a d advised t h e m to
p r e p a r e for a violent overthrow of t h e government.^s
T h e jury, h o w e v e r did n o t entirelv believe t h e
Trotskyists' c o n t e n t i o n that they predicted that \ i o l e n c e
would a c c o m p a n y revolutionary c h a n g e in t h e U.S. b u t
did n o t advocate \io\ent m e a n s . For a g r o u p that did
not i n t e n d to use force a n d \ i o l e n c e , t h e S'V\T's literature certainly was full of warlike language a n d metaphors. In spite of a full day of Marxist philosophy delive r e d by J a m e s C a n n o n a n d a passionate eight-hour
closing speech b)-.\lbert G o l d m a n , t h e j u i T e x o n e r a t e d
only five of t h e defendants. It convicted t h e r e m a i n i n g
18, including Carlson, of ad\-ocating t h e overthrow of
the g o v e r n m e n t t h r o u g h force a n d violence. T h e juiT
acquitted t h e m on t h e s e c o n d charge of a t t e m p t i n g to
organize an u n d e r g r o u n d armv.--'
T h e defendants were s e n t e n c e d to 16 m o n t h s in
prison on D e c e m b e r 8, 1941, t h e day after the J a p a n e s e
b o m b e d Pearl H a r b o r The)- immediatelv a p p e a l e d on
the g r o u n d s that t h e Smith Act placed unconstitutional
restrictions o n their right to free speech. Until their
legal appeals ran out, the\- were free on bail. Carlson
c o n t i n u e d as Minnesota organizer for t h e SWT until
Jul)- 1943, when she was transferred to t h e New York
office of t h e partv'. As m o r e a n d m o r e Trotsk)ist m e n
were drafted into t h e a r m e d services, t h e New York
leadership was d e p l e t e d , a n d t h e Twin Cities provided
some of t h e necessary back-up.'-"^ Vincent D u n n e also
moved to New York d u r i n g this time.
O n N o v e m b e r 22, 1943, t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t refused
to h e a r t h e appeal of t h e Smith Act d e f e n d a n t s , a n d
366
MINNESOTA HISTORY
MINNEAPOLIS iStTIMES
TU«MUT Etanlnq D»e»talfi 2. JMI
GERMAN SEA RAIDER, ANZAC
CRUISER BOTH SUNK IN BATTLE
Cavalry Slashes Fleeing Nazis
Tody's
Russ Take
ACTS \ Towns in
Spot-
i-OSERS IN RED TRIAL DISCUSS APPEAL
645 Lost With
Warship Sydney
Off Australia
until 7:00 P.M. we can wash
and iron, take baths, etc.
At 7:00 P.M., we either go
to the fixing room to play
cards, sew, etc. or be
locked in o u r rooms. I usuall)' stay in m)' room to
read. Lights are t u r n e d off
at 9:30 P.M. Except for
every other Saturday night
when we go to a m o \ i e a n d
Sunda)- when there is n o
regular w-ork, this is my
daily routine.
She further asked h e r sister
to assure Natalia Trotsky that
this prison xvas a far cry from
the Czarist d u n g e o n s that she
School Board ^
^
was imagining.'-"
i.-. coUsSeeref H-jSL^r^n^ 18 Convictcd in S W P Trial
Even so, Carlson suffered
HAND THAT FEEDS ^*r^,ll'l!l\ i
l P l Ask Willkie Direct Appeal
from isolation a n d homesickConvicted under t h e S m i t h A c t , Trotst<yists Felix M o r r o w , Vincent Dunne,
ness. "With all this actirits',"
Farrell Dobbs, James Cannon, and A l b e r t G o l d m a n ring Grace Carlson, pondering
she WTOte h e r h u s b a n d , w h o
was
seizing in t h e armx in
t h e i r next step.
Itah-, "vou might think that
the time dies for me, b u t it
doesn't. I am ver\-, very l o n e s o m e . T h e r e a r e n o congethe^- \\ere o r d e r e d to report to prison o n D e c e m b e r 3 1 .
nial c o m p a n i o n s h e r e . But so a r e vou l o n e s o m e ai-id so
Grace Carlson went to t h e Federal Correctional Facilit\are millions of others l o n e s o m e in this wear)' world. It
in A d e r s o n , West Virginia, t h e only federal w o m e n ' s
won't b e this way forever, t h o u g h , a n d that is someprison at t h e time. F o u r t e e n of the defendants, includthing to hold onto."2*^
ing all those from New-York, were sent to prison in
Sandstone, Minnesota. T h r e e went to a facilit)- in DanAt first Carlson found h e r fellow prisoners quite
burs-, Connecticut.'-'^
distasteful. 'Ybu have never seen unlovelier specimens
of white w o m a n h o o d , who still feel t h e m s e h e s innatelv
superior, just by virtue of b e i n g white. T h e constant use
IN HER FIRST LETTER to Dorothy, Carlson d e s c r i b e d
Alderson: "It has t h e a p p e a r a n c e of a well-kept college
of words like, 'n
r a n d ' c — n ' has m e physicalh- ill.
campus. T h e buildings a r e of red brick, t r i m m e d in
I am n o t in a position to d o m u c h educational work,
white, excessively n e a t a n d clean . . . O n e of the big
but I d o t h e best I can." Most of the o t h e r p r i s o n e i s
occupations h e r e is cleaning u p a n d straightening u p .
had b e e n convicted of prostitution u n d e r t h e Mav Act,
Even so great an e x p o n e n t of Cleanliness a n d O r d e r as
which m a d e it a crime for w o m e n to a p p r o a c h m e n in
I am feels t h e strain of it a little bit." Two weeks later,
the a r m e d ser\ices. Since so man\- m e n were training in
she a d d e d ,
the area a n d since the w o m e n were d e s p e r a t e h ' p o o r
prostitution was inevitable. T h e onlv o t h e r political
prisoners in Alderson h a d assisted G e r m a n spies to
Mv present routine is about as follows: I get u p
e n t e r t h e U.S.—hardl\- t h e kind ol political action that
between 6:00 a n d 6:15 A.M. (our doors are unlocked
Carlson approved.-''
at 6:30). Before breakfast at 7:00 I dress, make my
bed, dust a n d dust m o p my room. I am d u e at the
All prisoners h a d work assignments, a n d Carlson was
Med[ical] Office at 7:30 where I work until 11:55
sent to the medical office. .\s a xocational rehabilitation
A.M. T h e n , back to t h e cottage for lunch. I start workcounselor she h a d worked in hospitals, a n d to find hering again at 12:45 a n d work until 4:55 P.M. 'We have
self o n c e again in that setting was actualh' a treat. At
supper at the cottage about 5:20 P.M. From then
first she did primarih clerical work, t h o u g h before long
F.-\LLlwq
^67
she u n d e r t o o k a p r o g r a m to c o n d u c t psychological testing a n d t r e a t m e n t of inmates.'"' It was tmusual to h a \ e a
Ph.D. psxchologist in prison, a n d the warden was happy
to take advantage of Carlson's specialts-.
As time went by, h e r j u d g m e n t s a b o u t h e r fellow
prisoners softened. "I was awfully amused," she wrote
h e r friend Miiiam Braverman, "b)- xoin- reference to
o n e of the former inmates whose picture you saw in the
[New York] Post a.s a 'tough-looking c u s t o m e r ' She
acted as an assistant organist h e r e , a n d as I r e m e m b e r
her, was relatively ladylike in a p p e a r a n c e a n d actions.
You still have alot to learn (as I did) a b o u t the 'facts of
life.' Few of these girls h a d the chances to learn selfdiscipline that we did, a n d the lack of it is s t a m p e d o n
their faces a n d reflected in all their words a n d actions."
A few m o n t h s later, she described a n o t h e r of h e r fellowi n m a t e s to Dorothy:
She herself is the m o t h e r of 10 c h i l d r e n — o n e daughter is here with her. The\- are from North ("arolina
a n d are h e r e as "public prostitutes' u n d e r the May
Act. But she's devoted to her children and can hardly
wait to get back to them. I sa)- with embarassment
[sic] now that when I first came here, I thought that
she was crude and xtilgar and no-good, but I have
lived to learn better. People realh- do tr)' but the
cards are stacked against them! I alwavs knew that in
a statistical sense but I'm learning about its m e a n i n g
in individual lives now. -^'
T h e warden u r g e d C^arlson to "be a g o o d influence
o n these y o u n g e r girls," a n d she o b l i g e d — t h o u g h h e r
influence might not have b e e n exactly the kind the
w a r d e n h a d in m i n d . O n e o t h e r visitors, H e n r i e t t a
Geller, r e p o r t e d to their part)' c o m r a d e s that:
Grace said that she felt she had a great responsibility
in demonstrating to [the other girls], and to the
staff, what a Trotskyist is. She was told by one of the
staff that they expected a hulking Scandina-vian fireeater, and were bowled over when she appeared.
Grace told me that it was a great satisfaction to her to
see the preconceived prejudices and notions of what
a Bolshevik is give way to respect and confidence.
She told me that when she is asked how she can work
the way she does, and maintain good relatioiiships
with everybody, she tells them, "My part)' trained me
in h a r d work, discipline, objectivits' and devotion to
principles." '-'
Still, political a n d cultinal differences r e m a i n e d ,
even when Carlson could feel sympathetic to h e r companions:
368
MINNESOTA HISTORY
O n e of the m o r e exasperating features of the backwardness of the girls h e r e is their attitude on the
"woman question." Since so many of thei-n have been
convicted as prostitutes, you can readily see that the
struggle for equality of women on the intellectual,
social a n d economic levels is not understood. They
take it for granted that women are "different," "more
emotional," etc. etc. They want things to be that way.
That is, in fact, their pathetic stock in trade. I d o n ' t
argue this or any other question m u c h , but sometimes I am provoked into answering back s o m e o n e
who thinks that the Clinic is not run efficieiitly
because a woman doctor is the Chief Medical Officer
or that conditions would be better in the institution
as a whole if we d i d n ' t have a woinan as Warden.-^^'
IN T H E MEANTIME, life in the SWT outside was not easy,
e i t h e r Generally, m o r e a n d m o r e work fell o n fewer
a n d fewer s h o u l d e r s — a n d most of those shoulders
b e l o n g e d to w o m e n . T h e Trotskyists' c o n t i n u e d opposition to a p o p u l a r war left t h e m almost as isolated as
Carlson was in prison. T h e Minneapolis a n d St. Paul
b r a n c h e s were d e p o p u l a t e d by the Smith Act prosecutions a n d by the draft. Nationally, by the s u m m e r of
1944, some 166 SWP m e m b e r s h a d b e e n drafted out
of a total m e m b e r s h i p of p e r h a p s 700.-^^ No precise
n u m b e r s from the Twin Cities are available, t h o u g h
Carlson's c o r r e s p o n d e n t s frequently m e n t i o n e d their
reduced numbers.
T h e b r a n c h e s tried to maintain p r o g r a m s that predated the w a r M e m b e r s of b o t h the Minneapolis a n d
St. Paul SWT b e l o n g e d to the NAACP chapters in their
respective cities a n d participated in their acti\ities.
Dorothv Schultz ai-id Beatrice Jai-iosco served on the
executive committees. T h e SWT h a d regular public
meetings, called Stindav Forums, where a i n e m b e r
would speak a n d lead a discussion. T h e topics usuallv
involved a certain a m o u n t of research a n d were generally related to c u r r e n t events. S o m e of the topics during 1944 i n c l u d e d Ireland, labor politics, w o m e n and
the w a r a n d the reconstruction of E u r o p e . In addition,
party m e m b e r s tried to participate in electoral politics,
a l t h o u g h with the most e x p e r i e n c e d candidates in
prison, this was h a r d . T h e SWT c o n s i d e r e d r u n n i n g
C'arlson in the Senate race that fall from prison but
evenluall) d e c i d e d against it. T h e r e were also occasional celebrations to organize: a May Dav speech, the
a n n u a l strawbern- festival in J u n e , the r a s p b e r n ' festival
in July, a n d the Trotsky m e m o r i a l in August o n the
anniversan- of his death.•'''
Of course, 1944 was anything but a n o r m a l year for
the SWT, a n d many d e m a n d s flowed from the abnor-
r
y*
Marx, Trotsky, and Lenin surround the honor roll listing the i8 S m i t h A c t defendants, 14 of w h o m posed before their
send-off to prison. Back row (from left): Farrell Dobbs, Harry DeBoer, unknown, Clarence Hammel, unknown, Oscar
Coover, Jake Cooper; front: Max Geldman, Felix Morrow, Albert Goldman, James Cannon, Vincent Dunne, Carl
Skoglund, Grace Carlson
mal situation. T h e task of s u p p o r t i n g the prisoners at
Sandstone fell primarily to the Twin Cities locals of the
party. T h e inmates n e e d e d visitors, books, cash, a n d
part)' publications. T h e h u n d r e d - m i l e drive to Sandstone was not to be u n d e r t a k e n lighdy, given gasoline
rationing, vet prisoners with families in the area all
received o n e or m o r e visits a month.'''^ A n d part\' m e m bers on the outside raised money, money, a n d m o r e
m o n e v — t o buv things for the prisoners, give stipends
to their families when n e e d e d , a n d print p a m p h l e t s
a b o u t the case.
C o m r a d e s tried to build public presstire for a presidential p a r d o n a n d repeal of the Smith Act. In this
they were assisted by civil libertarians; however, when it
came to organizing a r u m m a g e sale, or getting signatures on the p a r d o n petitions, or a r r a n g i n g speaking
e n g a g e m e n t s a b o u t the case, the stalwarts were SWT
m e m b e r s . B e a t r i c e J a n o s c o wrote to Clarlson, "[We]
m a d e a lot of plans for the campaign. A m o n g o t h e r
things, Winnie [Nelson] a n d I are to work on the cam-
pus. I i n t e n d to put the baby in the buggv- a n d just
make the r o u n d s that way. It is verv difficult getting
son-ieone to sta)- with h e r even for a few evenings a
week, so I know that is the only wav I am g o i n g to b e
able to get t)ut." T h e accumulation of duties led to
weeks like this for Dorothy Schultz:
Lillian Pankratz was here for supper Monday, signed
the [pardon] petition, gave me $1 for the case;
Tuesday was N/AA.CP branch meeting at which I
m a d e the report on a questionnaire to all St. Paul
candidates in the city elections . . and I got another 8-10 signatures [on the p a r d o n petition].
Wednesday night I spent at the libran'; Thursday
night I went to bed while Henry went over to Mpls.
fonight we are taking Ann [their d a u g h t e r ] with us
to the W[orkers'] D[efense] L[eague] meeting.
Sattuday afternoon I have a sub-committee meeting
[of the NA-VCP] on the Minn. H o m e Guard, preparing a letter to Governor [Edward] Thve . . . Sunday
FALL 19W
369
is mv Fortnn on Italv. And that, as Eleanor
[Roosevelt] would sav, is mv week.
.After a uncharacteristically gloom)- letter from Schtiltz
in late Mav, Carlson wrote from Alderson, "How fortunate I a m to have fotmd this haven of peace a n d rest! I
think that if I were to use mv influence, I could get you
in h e r e , too."-'"
O n J u n e 15, 1944, Dorothv's h u s b a n d , Henn-, was
a d m i t t e d to t h e hospital. H e h a d b e e n c o m p l a i n i n g of
stomach pain, a n d it finallv got so severe that h e could
n o t eat. In t h e n e x t t h r e e worry-filled weeks h e nearly
d i e d twice, as t h e doctors gradualh' d e t e r m i n e d that h e
h a d a rare complication of appendicitis. His recovery
was long a n d slow. O n c e she was sure of his recuperation, D o r o t h y b e g a n to worrv a b o u t money; H e n n ' was
the family b r e a d w i n n e r O n impulse she took a 48hour-a-week j o b at t h e Ford M o t o r C o m p a n y plant a n d
p u t h e r two children in s u m m e r camps. H e r c o m r a d e s
quicklv s t e p p e d in. O n e of Carlson's New York corres p o n d e n t s wrote, "Dorothy . . . acted like this was h e r
p e r s o n a l t r o u b l e , a n d [took] a j o b in indtistr)', to make
u p for t h e loss of weekly i n c o m e . T h e c e n t e r interv e n e d however, sent a representative from Chicago a n d
the necessary funds a n d o r d e r e d h e r to give u p the j o b .
She will have to learn, like t h e rest of us, that n o t only
h e r services b e l o n g to t h e party, b u t also h e r troubles."
Carlson a d d e d h e r own voice to t h e chorus of objections: 'You mvist n o t think of going back to work . .
You have a different role to play in t h e organization
t h e r e . You're t h e leader there—all t h e m o r e so now
that H e n i T is o u t of things a n d you must have t h e p r o p e r a m o u n t of time a n d energy to be able to deal with
all of t h e p r o b l e m s . I'm glad to h e a r that Morrie
[Stein] sent in some money. You'll n e e d plenty, I know,
b u t H e n r y a n d you a r e worth that to the Party."-"-*
Dorothv, for h e r part, was intensely grateful for t h e
s u p p o r t . She told h e r sister "I can't even begin to enum e r a t e t h e kindness a n d h e l p of all t h e c o m r a d e s .
Betty a n d Paul stayed at the h o u s e for a couple of days
a n d nights. If it h a d n ' t b e e n for Elaine [Roseland], 1
am n o t quite stue how things wotild have g o n e o n . She
c a m e over with m e Friday a n d simph' stayed until late
yesterday w h e n t h e turn for t h e better b e c a m e m o r e
T h e r e ' s n o t h i n g like an organization!
convincing .
Bea [Janosco], Winnie [Nelson] a n d Evelyn [DeBoer]
got nurses when t h e hospital authorities said flatly, they
w e r e n ' t to be h a d . " In a separate letter, Roseland
described how t h e d e t e r m i n e d tiio h a d ptit their organizing skills to woik to get leads on m u s e s w h o wotild
stay with H e n r ) ' a r o i m d t h e clock in the hospital.
D u r i n g wartime, such n u r s i n g care was rare, indeed.''"
370
MINNESOTA HISTORY
As C A R L S O N OBSERVED, D o r o t h y Schultz was now t h e
leader in t h e Twin Cities SWT, a l t h o u g h h e r h u s b a n d
held t h e title of " o r g a n i z e r " She was n o t t h e only
woman whose responsibilities h a d increased dramaticallv u n d e r t h e d o u b l e impact of t h e war a n d t h e
i m p r i s o n m e n t s . J a n o s c o fotmd herself scrambling to
learn public speaking so that she could lead Sunday
Forums. O t h e r w o m e n were b e i n g g r o o m e d as well.
Schultz wrote approvingly: 'Jean [Tilsen] gave h e r first
Fortim speech last Sunday o n t h e British WTiite Paper
a n d Palestine. She did v e n ' well . . . . She has promise if
she can slough off some of this adolescent coyness a n d
personal c o n c e n t r a t i o n . " *
Still, w o m e n in t h e party found themselves hamp e r e d b)- t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s of h o m e life. J a n o s c o
described an NAACP m e e t i n g she a t t e n d e d : " I n i n g
[Bltimberg] was scheduled to make a r e p o r t a n d
Reverend [Clarence] Nelson was p r e s e n t a n d was
e x p e c t e d to speak, but I could n o t wait to h e a r either
one, as t h e m e e t i n g started late, a n d bv t h e time all the
mirsical n u m b e r s were included in t h e p r o g r a m , it was
5:30 a n d I was d u e h o m e to feed t h e baby, get d i n n e r
for J o h n , m a k e h i m a limch, etc. etc." .Arother of
Carlson's c o r r e s p o n d e n t s , Miriam Braverman, spoke
m o r e strongly when h e r letter-writing was interrupted:
"To b e c o n t i n u e d later, because I have to go h o m e a n d
d o my duty . . . . cook for Harry. (WTiy was I b o r n a
woman? . . . grrrrrrr)."^'
Elaine Roseland, t h e secretary at t h e Minneapolis
headqtiarters of t h e party, was c o a c h e d by b o t h sisters.
Carlson's letters to h e r were full of e n c o u r a g e m e n t ,
a n d when Roseland took o n a Stindav F o r u m , Carlson
suggested where she m i g h t find reference materials. In
August Roseland was sent to a two-week vacation school
s p o n s o r e d by t h e Detroit b r a n c h of t h e party to
improve h e r knowledge of Marxism a n d Trotskvist principles. Much to Schtiltz's. Janosco's, a n d Carlson's distress, the plan backfired, for the gentle, impressionable
Roseland fell h e a d over heels in love with a c o m r a d e
from t h e Chicago b r a n c h , w h o m t h e older w o m e n
agreed was quite unsuitable. As tactfully as thev could,
the)- tried to p e r s u a d e h e r to disentangle herself
"Who would ever have ihouglu," l a m e n t e d Janosco.
"we would have a p r o b l e m like this?"^'In general d u r i n g this time, t h e line between personal a n d political s e e m e d r a t h e r thin. Party m e m b e r s
a p p e a r e d to be happiest a n d at their best w h e n engaged in social functions. T h e v p r e p a r e d meals together two or t h r e e times a week at t h e p a r n h e a d q u a r t e r s .
They showed h o m e movies of past events, like t h e
raspberry festivals a n d t h e d e p a r t u r e of t h e 18 for
prison. And they h e l p e d o n e a n o t h e r o u t with personal
difficulties and routine needs, such as child care.
This sense of togetherness may well have reflected the
fact that they were a small group whose political stand
on the most important isstie of the day—the war—
was quite unpopular. WTien the prisoners left for their
penitentiaries, the party set a goal of recruiting ten
new members for ever}- one in prison, or 180 all told.
At the first gathering of the national committee after
the release of the prisoners, it was reported that the
S"VVT had gained 125, for a nationwide total just over
1,000 members.^-^ Carlson's correspondents often
mentioned the appearance of new faces at parts- events
or the return of old ones that had not been seen for
a while.
The only others who opposed the Second World
War consistently were religious pacifists. The SWT disdained both religion and pacifism, however and never
made any real attempt to form alliances with them. Not
a structured group, the pacifists included a number of
different denominations and did not have a unified
response to the war; the majority went to Civilian
Public Service camps run by the military, while others
chose prison rather than cooperate with the militar)' at
all. There were a few connections between Trotskvists
and conscientious objectors; for instance, Carlson knew
Wally Nelson, an African American from St. Paul who
entered prison at about the same time she did. His
\sife, Juanita, assisted with fund-raisers for the SWP prisoners.^-* WTiile there is no guarantee that an alliance
v\ith the pacifists would have increased the SWT's
influence, many conscientious objectors did go on to
devote their lives to social service and social change,
and they might have been more radical if they had
adopted some Marxist analvsis from the SWT.
In the long run, association with the NAACP did
not strengthen the SWT, either After her conviction
and before her imprisonment, Carlson had written to
Natalia Trotsky, "We have come to have many real
friends among the colored men and woi-nen in the
St. Paul and Minneapolis branches of the NAACP. It
has been rather startling to me to see how little disturbed they are by having their names a,ssociated publicly with ours." After the trial, she admitted, she began
to think that "those of us who were directly involved
would be pretty well cut off during this period from anv
fresh contacts. It is, therefore, doubly satisf)ing to find
the reverse of this situation to be true." By the fall of
1944, however, Carlson's correspondents sounded discouraged with their NAACP work. It appeared to them
that the Communist Party was making inroads with
some of the best leaders in St. Paul, and the Minneapolis branch seemed to be suffering from lack of leader-
ship, program, and direction. .After the SWT national
convention, Janosco wrote frankly, "Although the convention was an inspiring affair for us here, it is a contrast to our isolation, and I know Elaine [Roseland]
finds this a little depressing. Problems of all kinds are
magnified now. We all feel that. Sometimes it is hard to
remember as Ray [Dunne] says, that we live for a better day. "-15
A BETTER D.AY EOR GR.\CE CARLSON came onjantian'
31, 1945, when she and the Sandstone prisoners were
released with five months of supervision. She was happy
to be leaving prison, although she felt quite proud of
the psychological-testing program she had pioneered.
"I had had my heart set on a year of academic study
and research, but Fate and the Department of Justice
determined otherwise," she wrote to Natalia Trotsky.
"By a happy conjuncture of circumstances, my work
assignment turned out to be even more advantageous
to me than such a vear of luxurious stud)'. The opportunit)' for this intensive clinical stud)' of human behavior,
especially of subjects who are products of the terrible
economic and social conditions of the South, is one
which would please anv Marxist."^''
The Sandstone prisoners, bv wav of contrast, had
more leisure time in which to studv and discuss Marx-
S W P m e m b e r s relax at Mountain Spring camp, northeastern U.S., 1949. F r o m left: A r n i e Swabeck, James Cannon,
Rose Karsner (a correspondent of Carlson's and m a r r i e d
t o Cannon), Oscar Coover, and Carl Skoglund
FALL I'JOQ
371
ism. This proved to be a mixed blessing. Wliile J a m e s
C a n n o n wrote an elaborate plan for a Trotskyist universit)-, Felix Morrow, Carlos H u d s o n , a n d Albert G o l d m a n
were b e g i n n i n g to have d o u b t s a b o u t the structure a n d
politics of their party. Even before their release, comrades in New York knew that the)- were d i s c o n t e n t e d ,
a n d at the 1944 national convention tensions h a d
e x p l o d e d into a n o t h e r of the periodic battles over doctrine that repeatedly splintered the part)'. After their
release, H u d s o n a n d G o l d m a n left the part)' in disgust;
Morrow was expelled at the 1946 national convention."''
O t h e r former prisoners sank quietly into private life
a n d a p p e a r to have played little further role in the S'WP.
To bolster the m o r a l e of the party workers who h a d
s u p p o r t e d the prisoners so faithfully a n d to c o u n t e r
t h e defection of some of those "heroes," it was important that at least o n e of the prisoners be seen as m o r e
fiery a n d d e d i c a t e d to the cause t h a n ever H e r e
Carlson s t e p p e d willingly into the b r e a c h , as soon as
the terms of h e r p r o b a t i o n would allow it. From J u n e
19 to August 22, 1945, she u n d e r t o o k a coast-to-coast
speaking tour, lecturing o n the subject of "W''omen in
Prison." At first the subject of h e r speech m e t with
some polite resistance from b r a n c h leaders. O t h e r s
simply a d d e d to h e r topic. They feared that the industrial workers they h a d b e e n trying to recruit would not
care m u c h a b o u t conditions for w o m e n in prison.
Carlson was able to r e p o r t from Detroit, however, "Bob
Kingsley told m e that h e h a d b e e n very o p p o s e d to this
subject but that h e realized d u r i n g the m e e t i n g that
the workers were really interested. This has b e e n my
e x p e r i e n c e everyplace." Newspaper coverage certainly
m a d e the most of Carlson's u n d i m i n i s h e d dedication
to the cause: "Woman WTio Served Term Renews Political Crusade," a n n o u n c e d the Detroit News, a n d "Aident
Socialist U n d a u n t e d After 13 M o n t h s in Prison,' said
the Detroit Free Press."^*^
Carlson c o n t i n u e d h e r p r o m i n e n t role in the part)'.
She r e s u m e d h e r post as state organizer in Minnesota,
a n d she ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1946, the
same year that Dorothy Schultz c a m p a i g n e d for the
H o u s e of Representatives. Two years later, Carlson ran
for vice-president on the SWT's first presidential ticket.
Schultz, too, r e m a i n e d active until the late 1950s a n d
even served o n the national c o m m i t t e e , a l t h o u g h the
birth of two m o r e children limited h e r activity somewhat. Still, the role of w o m e n in the party did n o t
c h a n g e significantly as a result of their work in 1944.
As in o t h e r segments of society, w o m e n ' s leadership in
the workplace a n d in public life decreased at the e n d
of the w a r This reversion to prewar p a t t e r n s r o b b e d
the SWP of talent a n d left it vailnerable to criticisms of
372
MINNESOTA HISTORY
sexism a n d male chauvinism when a new wave of feminism e m e r g e d in the 1960s.-'y
Sexism a n d male chauvinism aside, leadership in
the SWT was hardly d e m o c r a t i c . WTiile Leon Trotsky
lived, h e analyzed all world events, formulated all party
positions, a n d advised all the socialist parties loyal to
him a r o u n d the world. After his assassination in 1940,
the U.S. party was left to guess how the O l d Man would
have analyzed the world situation a n d what policies h e
would have p u t foi'ward, based o n his v o l u m i n o u s writings. James C a n n o n a n d Trotsky's o t h e r close acquaintances did that interpretation. T h e result was a combination of o p e n n e s s to individual analyses a n d overall
stultification in the party's t h o u g h t . For example, when
Carlson went o n a speaking t o u r in 1940 or gave a campaign speech in 1948, she chose h e r OWTI subjects,
reflecting h e r own interests a n d experiences. She
b r o k e n o new theoretical g r o u n d for the party—but n o
Natalia Trotsky, with whom Grace Carlson established a
warm friendship
Sisters D o r o t h y Schultz and Grace Carlson filing petitions to have their names on the 1946 ballot, when Schultz ran for
Congress and Carlson for Senate
one did, even durinsr and after World War II. For
instance, rather than examining the posnvar situation
through the lens of 1945, the SWT looked back to
1917. This led to the curious prediction that the disgust
of working-class soldiers over the long and difficult
"imperialist war would boil over once formal hostilities ceased, and the soldiers would revolt against their
commanders. That, Trotskyists reasoned, was what the
Old Man had foreseen happening in Russia in 1917,
and it must be readv- to happen again."'"
Trotskyists were not alone in looking back, though.
U.S. elected officials also remembered 1918, when
World W^ar I veterans had returned to their interrupted
lives, often without much money or many prospects,
and social unrest resulted. The G.I. Bill of 1944 was
designed specificallv to avoid a repeat of that situation
and to give veterans a considerable boost into the middle class. Thus the second postwar period, which began
with a wave of labor strikes, did not in the long run
provide verv fertile ground for socialism in the U.S.—
especially when Cold War tensions began to build
after 1948.
GRACE CARLSON ABRUPTLY RESIGNED from the SWT in
June 1952, when she was on the verge of a second run
for vice-president of the U.S. In a two-paragraph letter
she informed James Cannon, "I am planning to return
to the Catholic Church and it will be immediately clear
to you and to the other national committee members
that I would be unable to sene as a candidate.""'^
Her decision was a complete bombshell; even her
sister did not know that she was contemplating this
step. Later in life Carlson explained her conversion this
way: "M)- father died. That was a ven- traumatic situation for me. It wasn't that I thought his death was so
tragic—he was old and he'd been sick and I don't think
he even minded d)ing, but then the whole philosophical question came up: WTio would make up to him for
evei-)'thing that he had missed in his life? All the problems that he'd had (and I certainlv had been one of
them). That's when I went back to the church."
Cannon made a special trip to the Twin Cities after
receiving her letter and concluded: "She just got tired.
That is all. She was good for sixteen v ears but the next
sixteen appeared too tough for her She has rationalized it on the church. That is an escape." One of her
contemporaries later speculated that she was despondent over the state of the Twin (Cities branches of the
SWT. Wliatever the reasons, Carlson's departure from
the partv led to a painful estrangement between the
Holmes sisters, which ended when Dorothv herself
dropi^ed oul of the SWT. Grace reconciled with her
husband Crilbert, however and went on to become a
professor of psycholog)- at St. Man's Junior College in
FALL IWQ
373
M i n n e a p o l i s — a post she h e l d until 1979. S h e identified
t h e M i n n e s o t a c h a p t e r s , which t h r o u g h o u t t h e 1930s
herself as a Marxist—only as a religious, r a t h e r t h a n an
were s e c o n d only to "the c e n t e r " in i m p o r t a n c e .
atheist, M a r x i s t — u p to h e r d e a t h o n July 7, 1992.
G o v e r n m e n t r e p r e s s i o n was only o n e factor in t h e
D o r o t h y Schultz is still alive.'''-
SWT's s t a g n a t i o n , t h o u g h . Its own lack of t h e o r e t i c a l
i m a g i n a t i o n , i n t e r n a l f e u d i n g , a n d c o n t i n u e d hostilits'
from t h e m o r e influential C o m m u n i s t Party c o m b i n e d
T H E S M I T H A c r P R O S E C U T I O N h a d s o m e t h i n g of a
to k e e p t h e SWT m a r g i n a l i z e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e postwar
dela)-ed effect o n t h e Socialist W o r k e r s ' Part)'. As l o n g
years. F u r t h e r m o r e , it did n o t have t h e foresight to
as t h e case against t h e d e f e n d a n t s was in t h e courts, it
build u p o n t h e l e a d e r s h i p shown by w o m e n d u r i n g its
p r o v i d e d a rallying p o i n t a n d m a d e party m e m b e r s
crisis p e r i o d to c o u n t e r its own s t a g n a t i o n . It t o o k a
feel h e r o i c — a n d p e r h a p s a bit m o r e i m p o r t a n t o n t h e
r e n e w e d wave of s t u d e n t activism in t h e early 1960s to
political s c e n e t h a n the)- really were. As 1944 wore o n ,
p u t t h e Socialist W o r k e r s ' Part)' b a c k o n t h e n a t i o n a l
however, t h e strain o n t h e party grew, particularly o n
political m a p .
J
N O T E S
1. Grace Carlson to Dorothv Schultz, May 14, J u n e 11,
1944, Grace Carlson Papers, 1929-1986, Minnesota Historical
Societv- (MHS), St. Paul. L'nless otht'i'v\ise n o t e d , all correspond e n c e is in these papers.
2. H e r e a n d below, "Biographical Sketch, Grace Carlson,"
Carlson papers; Grace H o l m e s Carlson, inteiview by Carl Ross,
Julv 9, 1987, transcript, p. 1-4, 20th Centuiy Radicalism in
Minnesota Project, in MHS Libraiv. T h e information on ManH o l m e s is from the birth certificate, "Baby Girl Holmes," in
possession of Dorothy Schultz, Madison, WI.
3. David Montgomerv-, The Fall of the House of Labor: The
Workplace, the Stale, and .-{merican Labor Activism,
1865-1925
(New York: C a m b r i d g e Universitv Press, 1987), 400-09,
422-24; Carlson i n t e m e w , 1.
4. Carlson inter\de\v, 2, 4 - 5 .
5. "Biographical Sketch," Carlson papers; Dorothv M.
H o l m e s , "A Study o n International Relations a n d the Grade
School" (master's thesis. University of Minnesota, 1933).
6. Roy Rosenzweig, "Unemployed Movements of t h e 1930s,"
in Encyclopedia of the American Left, ed. Mari J o Buhle, Paul
Buhle, a n d Dan Georgakas (New York: Garland Publishing,
1990), 79.3-96; George H. Mayer, The Political Career of Floyd B.
Olson (1951; reprint, Sr Paul: MHS Press, 1987), 17-56.
7. Constance Ashton Myers, The Prophet's Army: Trotskyists in
Atnmra, 192H-I941 (Westport, CT: G r e e n w o o d Press, 1977),
2.3-33, 4 4 - 5 1 ; Tim Wolilforth, "Trotskv-ism," a n d Paul LeBlanc,
"Socialist Workers' Part)'," both in Lncyclopedia of the American
Left, 7 8 2 - 8 5 , 727-29.
8. Carlson interview, 4 1 .
9. By far t h e most detailed a n d gripping (though somewhat
self-sersing) account of the truck drivers' strikes is by Farrell
Dobbs, a Trotskyist a n d participant: Teamster Eehellion (New
Y'ork: Monad Press, 1972).
10. Carlson interview, 6.
11. Dorothy Schultz, interview by a u t h o r , Dec. 29, 1994,
notes in a u t h o r ' s possession.
12. Elizabeth Fane, Commniiit\ n/ Siff-niiL;; an/I Struggle:
Woi/wn. Men. anil Ihe I.alxn- Moin'iinnil in Minnra/iiilis.
1915-1945
374
MINNESOTA HISTORY
(Chapel Hill: Universit)' of N o r t h Carolina Press, 1991), 72-73,
115; Myers, Prophet's Army. 190.
13. Charles Walker to H e r b e r t [Solow?], May 28, 1936,
Charles Ruinford Walker Papers, 1924-1937, MHS. O n
patience, see, for example, Grace Carlson to Dorothv Schultz,
Feb. 13, July 2, 1944.
14. State of Minnesota, "In the Matter of the Removal of
J o h n G. Rockwell," h e a r i n g before Board of Education, transcript, p. 1407, 1409, Rockwell a n d Carstater H e a r i n g Files,
Minnesota D e p a r t m e n t of Education, Commissioner's Office,
Minnesota State Aj'chives, MHS; Socialist Appeal (New York),
special Minnesota campaign ed., Oct. 19, 1940, p . 1, Rockwell
a n d Carstater H e a r i n g Files, b o x 2, "Carlson, Grace, 1940" folder, hereinafter, Carlson file.
15. Grace Carlson to D. H. Dabelstein, Aug. 2 1 , 1940, copy,
a n d J o h n G. Rockwell to H e r b e r t L. Lewis, .Aug. 31, 1940, both
in Carlson file; Maiy Herrick, "Dr. J o h n Rockwell vs. Minnesota
Spoils,' American Teache>,]!in. 1941, in "Clippings 1938-1941"
folder, Rockwell a n d Carstater H e a r i n g files, b o x 2; Minneapolis
Morning Tribune. Dec. 27, 1944, p. 1,9. For Trotskvist gloating
over election results, see "Minnesota Vote Tops Minorities:
Final Returns Show Carlson above CP a n d SP C o m b i n e d , " Nov.
30, 1940, p . 1; " O u r Partv's Vote in Minnesota," Dec. 14, 1940,
p. 2; " O u r Party's Election C a m p a i g n in Minnesota," Dec. 2 1 ,
1940, p. 4; "The Vote for Trotskyism in Minnesota," Feb. 8,
1941, p . -1—all in .Socialist Appeal, microfilm copv- labeled The
Militanl (its predecessor a n d successor title), Liniversitv of
Minnesota.
16. Farrell Dobbs to Grace C a d s o n , Nov. 28, 1940. Rose
Karsner r e m a r k e d that Carlson s e e m e d to have t h e best relationship with Natalia of anv of the U.S. female leaders; Karsner
to C a d s o n , Dec. 14, 1944.
17. For the SWP's position o n t h e war, see "Defend the
Soviet U n i o n : Manifesto of the Socialist W o r k e r s ' Part)'," Fourth
International^ (July 1941): 170-73; o n the partv''s size, see Myers,
Prophet's Army. 165. In 1940 t h e SWT h a d between 500 a n d 625
m e m b e r s nationwide, having just w e a t h e r e d o n e of its internal
disputes, which resulted in half t h e m e m b e r s h i p leaving.
18. T h e n u m b e r of Local 574 c h a n g e d to 544 as a result of
this tangle; for details of the struggle, see Ralph ( ' . J a m e s a n d
Estelle James, "The Purge of the Trotskyists from the Teamsters," Western Political Quailerly 19 (Mar. 1966): 5-15.
19. O n Roosevelt's involvement, see James a n d James,
"Purge of the Trotskvists," 10; on the raid, see Minneapolis Monting Tribune,]un€ 28, 1941, p. 1, including picture of Carlson
"fleeing"; for the charges against the Trotskvists, see Felix
Morrow, "The Federal Prosecution of the Socialist Workers'
Party," Fourth International2 (Aug. 1941): 214-17.
20. Myers, Prophet's Anny. 178.
21. Felix Morrow, "The Minneapolis Sedition Trial," Fourth
Internationally (Jan. 1942): 7; "The FBI-Gestapo Attack on the
Socialist Workers' Partv-," Fourth International 2 (July 1941): 163.
According to Grace, a priest told Gilbert that h e could not be a
socialist and a R o m a n Catholic at the same time, so he left the
SWT. T h e couple separated in about 1940; Carlson interview,
7. Gilbert was o n e of the seven c o r r e s p o n d e n t s Grace was
allowed to select while in prison; see "List of Authorized
Correspondents," in folder marked "SWT C o r r e s p o n d e n c e
J a n . - F e b . 1944," Carlson papers.
22. Daily Worker, Aug. 16, 1941, p. 5; "The Issues at Minneapolis," The Nation, Dec. 13, 1941, p. 602. George Novack, an
SWT leader from New York, toured the U.S. in 1944, speaking
on behalf of the prisoners. His letters to Evelvn Anderson, his
secretary, frequendy r e p o r t e d on opposition e n c o u n t e r e d
from Communists in the CIO. These letters are in Civil Rights
Defense Committee (CRDC) Records, 1941-1958, State Historical Societv- of Wisconsin, Madison (microfilm edition, 1994),
hereinafter cited as CRDC records.
23. St. Paul Pioneer Press, Nov. 7, 1941, p. 5; Minneapolis
Daily Times, Nov. 25, 1941, p. 1.
24. William F. Warde, "Capitalist Frame-up: 1941 Model,"
Fourth International2 (Dec. 1941): 295-96.
25. Carlson to Natalia Trotsky, J u n e 19, 1943.
26. The Militant,]a.n. 8, 1944.
27. Carlson to Schultz, J a n . 16, 30, Mar. 19, 1944.
28. Contained in Carlson to Schultz, Mar. 5, 1944. For a
while Grace was unable to get V-Mail paper, so h e r letters to
Gilbert were transmitted t h i o u g h h e r sister.
29. Carlson to Schultz, Feb. 27, 1944; Carlson inteniew,
8-9, 37.
30. Evelyn Anderson, "My Visit to Grace Carlson, Apr. 26,
1944," typescript, n.p., SWP C o r r e s p o n d e n c e #5 folder, a n d
Henrietta Geller, "Report o n My Visit to Grace Carlson on
J u n e 28th, 1944," typescript, n.p., SWP C o r r e s p o n d e n c e #7
folder—both Carlson papers.
31. Carlson to Miriam [Braverman], May 7, 1944; Carlson
to Schultz, Aug. 6, 1944.
32. Carison to Schultz, J a n . .30, 1944; Geller, "Report on
Visit."
33. Cadson to Elaine Roseland, May 14, 1944.
34. U n d a t e d , unsigned report, probably from Morris Stein,
acting national secretary, to Political C o m m i t t e e , J u n e 27[?],
1944, CRDC Records.
35. Beatrice J a n o s c o to Carlson, Mar. 17, Apr. 6, Carlson to
Elaine Roseland, May 14, Schultz to C a d s o n , Oct. 1.3—all 1944.
36. Elaine Roseland to Cadst)n, Mar. 21, 1944.
37. Beatrice Janosco to Carlson, Mar. 1, Schultz to Carlson,
Mar. 24, Carlson to Schultz, J u n e 4—all 1944.
38. Rose Karsner to Carlson, Julv 3, Carlson to Schultz, July
2, Schultz to Cadson, July 3—all 1944.
39. Schultz to Carlson, July 3, 1944; Roseland to Carlson,
July 5, 1944.
40. Schultz to Carlson, Apr. 7, 1944.
41. Janosco to Carlson, July 30, 1944; Braverman to
Carlson, Apr. 26, 1944.
42. Carlson to Roseland, May 14, 1944; J a n o s c o to Carlson,
Aug. 29, Oct. 4, 15, 1944.
43. Roseland to Carlson, Mar. 2 1 , May 5, 1944; Janosco to
C a d s o n , Mar. 22, Aug. 23, Sept. 17, 1944; Schultz to Carison,
May 1, 1944; "Organizatiorial Report," submitted to the
National Committee's p l e n u m . May 12-14, 1945, p. 8, 10,
Records of the Socialist Workers' Part)', microfilm edition
(1977), roll 3, State Historical Societ)' of Wisconsin, hereinafter
cited as SV\T Records. T h e originals are in the Libraiy of Social
Histoiv, New York Cir\-.
44. Schultz to C^adson, Feb. 2 1 , Mar. 10, 1944.
45. Carlson to Trotsky, Feb. 5, 1943; Janosco to Carlson,
Oct. 4, 15, Nov. 24, 1944; Schultz to C a d s o n , Nov. 10, 1944.
46. Carlson to Trotsky, Dec. 3 1 , 1944, in possession of
Dorothv- Schultz.
47. Miriam Carter and Rose Karsner to Carlson, both Aug.
30, 1944; Alan M. Wald, The New York Intellectuals: The Rise and
Decline of the Anti-Stalinist Left from the 1930s to the 1980s (Chapel
Hill: Universitv' of N o r t h Carolina Press, 1987), 255-56, 287.
48. See letters from P. Ryder, R. Kendall, a n d M. Ingersoll
to Morris Stein, J u n e 10, 13, 1945; Carlson to Stein, Julv 12,
1945; flyer from Philadelphia, promising that Carlson would
address issues like 'women u n d e r capitalism, how to abolish
racial discrimination, a n d the wav to e c o n o m i c securiu- and
lasting peace"; articles, July 12, 1945—all CRDC' Records.
49. Farrell Dobbs to Dorothy Schultz, Dec. 1, 1953, SWT
Records.
50. Farrell Dobbs to Carlson, Nov. 28, 1940; Cadson to
Dobbs, Dec. 1, 1940; Wald, Netv York Intellectuals, 254-55, 295-97.
51. Cadson to C a n n o n , J u n e 18, 1952, SWT Records.
52. Schultz interview; Carlson i n t e n i e w , 38-39; unsigned
m e m o r a n d u m of a t e l e p h o n e call with "Jim [ C a n n o n ] , " J u n e
20, 1952, SWP Records; J e a n Tilsen Bnist, obituar)' of Grace
Carlson, Bulletin of the Socialist Workirs' League, Mar. 12, 1993,
p. 14-16.
Alt images are/rom Ml IS collections, including p. 358-59. from the
Miimeapolis Ti ilsune.
FALL IWO
375
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