The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) is an American political party with a communist platform that was founded in 1919 in Chicago, Illinois.[1] Its history is deeply rooted in the history of the American labor movement as it played critical roles in the earliest struggles to organize American workers into unions, in leadership of labor strikes,[2] as well as prominent involvement in later civil rights and anti-war movements.[according to whom?] Many party members were forced to work covertly due to the high level of political repression in the United States against Communists. CPUSA faced many challenges in gaining a foothold in the United States as they endured two eras of the Red Scare and never experienced significant electoral success. Despite struggling to become a major electoral player, CPUSA was the most prominent leftist party in the United States.[3] CPUSA developed close ties with the Soviet Union, which led to them being financially linked.[2][4]
Membership of the CPUSA peaked in the late 1940s, with over 75,000 members in 1947.[5] But their influence spanned beyond just their membership as some candidates in national elections garnered over 100,000 votes.[6] However, the CPUSA began to decline in membership in the late 1940s and into the 1950s, presumably due to the Red Scare where the US government publicly tried and convicted Communists and CPUSA members on the grounds of the Smith Act.[5][7][8] CPUSA faced challenges when the dissolution of the Soviet Union took place, as they lost their main source of funding.[9] The Communist Party USA is still alive today but its membership and activity have shifted to a more online medium. Despite staying active through various challenges, including a significant fracturing in the 1990s, they have never managed to reach their previous heights.[4]