Archives West Finding Aid

Following World War II, U.S. relations with the Soviets had deteriorated and by 1949 the Chinese Communist revolution was underway. In response, the Truman presidency developed an international policy of "containment" towards Communism. Part of this policy involved the Marshall Plan, implemented to spur the economic recovery of Europe following the war. This policy, as well as domestic labor policy, was not popular with the newly formed leftist Progressive Party, endorsed by both the Communist Party and American Labor Party of New York. Henry Wallace was a prominent member of the Progressive Party. He served as vice president of the United States under Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1940 to 1944, but in 1946, while serving as secretary of commerce, he was dismissed by President Truman for his empathetic position towards Russia. In 1948 he was the presidential candidate for the Progressive Party, campaigning against the Marshall Plan. Scant voter support led Wallace to leave the party in 1950. In 1952, Vincent Hallinan was the Progressive Party candidate for president of the United States; his vice-presidential running-mate was Charlotta Bass. After a weak voter response, the party disappeared. Hallinan also gained notoriety for time spent in McNeil Island prison in 1952 for tax evasion.

A political ally of the Progressive Party, Hewlett Johnson was the Dean of Canterbury from 1931-1963 and was known as the "Red Dean" because of his outspoken liberal and radical views. Famed writer W.E.B. Dubois shared views with Johnson and with the Progressive Party. In his essay, The Nation , he argues that the strong bipartisan support in the United States makes it impossible for a third political party to rise.