Founded as the Social Democratic Party of America in 1898, the Socialist Party established its first local in Montana in Butte the following year. The rising popularity of Socialism in regions such as Butte was the direct result of the heavy handed, sometimes murderous, control exhibited over the local economy and government by large companies, most notably the
Anaconda Copper Mining Company
(ACM), which exemplified all the negative aspects of the capitalist system. As labour unions were organized in Montana mining areas, they were as quickly quashed by companies like the ACM, often with the help of either legislation drafted in their favor or, failing that, the aid of the National Guard.
Socialism experienced minor successes in Butte from 1899 to 1918, but by the end of the teens, it, and radical unions such as the
Industrial Workers of the World, had been successfully rendered impotent by not only federal legislation, but murder, blowing up of union halls, the imposition of civil law and the importation of hundreds of federal troop. It would not be until the 1930s that the union movement would gain a permanent foothold in Butte.
In 1920 the Butte Local of the Socialist Party of Montana was defunct and the building deeded to the
Bulletin Publishing Company, a Socialist newspaper which tried to carry on with the promulgation of the principles of the Socialist Party.
Built in 1916 at an estimated cost of $6,000, the two story brick Socialist Hall continued as the home of the
Bulletin Publishing Company when it defaulted on a loan, losing the building. It has since been used as a commercial building, for many years now being the home of Fran Johnson's Sport Shop, now also a pawn shop.
Socialism in Montana
Historians have tended to dismiss the socialist movement in the United States during the first two decades of the twentieth century as simply another reform movement and have considered its impact as minimal. Upon reconsideration though we see that the socialist movement in the United States did have a significant national impact. For example, Eugene Debs' 1924 bid for president was one of the most significant third party campaigns in our history. Perhaps equally important was the impact of socialism which occurred at the local and state levels. In places like Butte, Montana and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, socialists played significant roles in city government, while at the state level, socialists played a significant role in both urban and rural political movements. Although the movement for socialism in America ultimately failed, its presence helped force the political mainstream to consider reforms that would improve the life of the nation's working class.
Founded as the Social Democratic Party of America in 1898, the Socialist Party established its first local in Montana in Butte the following year. Many of the early members of Montana's Socialist Party were former populists, and included Frank Curran and Henry Davis who in 1911 successfully ran for the Butte City Council on the Socialist ticket. Butte, once known as the "Gibraltar of unionism," seemed to be a perfect place for the advancement of socialist goals and ideals.
In the first two decades of the twentieth century Butte had a large working class population, of which many were unskilled and thus primarily left outside union organization. The city was also a melting pot of immigrants, mostly from Europe, where some may have already been introduced to socialism. Finally, by the turn of the century Butte along with much of the state was dominated both politically and economically by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company (ACM) which "personified" all the negative aspects of the capitalist system. It was under these conditions that the socialist movement spread in Butte and through much of the state.
The Socialist Party of Montana hoped to exploit the economic conditions and demographic make-up of the state to forge a "majority coalition...in which workers would be the leading element." While the party had revolutionary as well as reformist goals its approach was gradual and peaceful. The party hoped to build a coalition of workers and "use the collective power of the ballot to overthrow capitalism...and begin to construct a socialist society." In 1903 the Socialist Party registered its "first municipal electoral success West of the Mississippi" in Anaconda, Montana. Anaconda seemed an unlikely place for a socialist victory considering ACM domination of the city, but while the company concentrated on fighting opposing mining interests the Socialist Party succeeded in mobilizing the city's working class and electing 6 members to the city's government.
From the NRHP Registration Form
SOCIALIST HALL
Hands and forearms clasped in solidarity symbolize a movement of local and national significance during the first decades of the twentieth century. One of the few socialist meeting halls remaining in the United States, the building is a monument to a turbulent era of labor unrest and political action. Socialists in Montana played an active role in forcing mainstream politicians to consider labor reforms. At the turn of the twentieth century, the Anaconda Copper Mining Company dominated Montana politics, much of the economy, and nearly everything in Butte, personifying all the negative aspects of the capitalist system. Butte, known as the “Gibraltar of Unionism” with its huge working class, was thus central to the socialist movement. Members constructed this hall in 1916. It was the heart of socialist activity in Montana, housing the Socialist Party of Montana, the Butte Local, and the Butte Socialist Publishing Company. World War I hysteria prompted Montana to enact the nation’s most stringent measures to suppress radicalism and dissent. The Socialist Party suffered severely. In 1920, it deeded the building to the Bulletin Publishing Company, whose Butte Bulletin, edited by electrician and radical unionist W. F. Dunne, carried on the party’s principles by supporting the Non-Partisan League. Dunne lost the building to taxes in 1924 and the Bulletin ceased publication. Socialist Hall, with its rallying inscription “Workers of the World Unite,” is a poignant reminder of the efforts to create a “cooperative commonwealth” and the solidarity engendered by the Socialist Party of Montana.
From the NRHP plaque at the hall