Did the Empire ever tremble?

[Luisrah]

Did the USA ever face a socialist threat?

Did it face huge strikes at one moment? Did the bourgeoisie ever fear losing their riches?

What about Europe?

[Jimmie Higgins]

Did the USA ever face a socialist threat?
I don't think the US ever seriously faced a socialist revolution, but there have been periods of wide-spread radicalization. Radicals in the late 60s seriously believed that "revolution was around the corner" because of a period of rapid radicalization and the convergence of large movements.


Did it face huge strikes at one moment?
There have also been many intense waves of labor militancy in the US. In fact in US history the labor movement has followed a pattern of major explosions, where organizations are built and large numbers of workers join, followed by long stretches of stagnation or decline until the next explosion. In 1919 there was a strike wave including a general strike in Seattle. In the 30s there were a couple of strike waves including major general strikes (happening within months of eachother) and the sit-down strikes.


Did the bourgeoisie ever fear losing their riches?FDR claimed to be the best friend of the profit-system and believed his reforms prevented a socialist revolution.

[Holden Caulfield]

I think in the late 20's it feared a revolution, most of the world did.

[Black&Red]

They are always fearing a revolution, maybe not their country, but in their colonies. France was afraid a revolution would happen in their African colonies and one did actually happen in Vietnam and slowly it also happened in Algeria. The US always fears that one happens in South America, and it has happened a few times although most of the time they find a way to get rid of those stupid people who think that governments should be there for the people instead of the interest of a few.

[FreeFocus]

I wouldn't say it has ever trembled, but it has sweat twice - 1880s-1930s, and then the 1950s-1970s. The closest things have ever come were, I think, in the 1960s/1970s. It was almost a perfect storm - Civil Rights movement, Vietnam, the student movement, revolutions abroad, etc.

[el_chavista]

Did the Empire ever tremble?Well, I don't know whether the Empire has ever trembled but the greedy capitalistic vermin have several times shat their pants at the sight and the roar of, for example, the Paris Communards, Lenin's Bolshevists, and Maoist guerrillas :D

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Europe: 1848, comrades?

The mid 19th century was a hotbed of revolutionary activity. In the Capitalist British media, there is little mention of how close we came to revolution here in the 19th century, yet it can be noted that in 1930-32, we were hugely close to revolution, as noted by E.P. Thompson. They also gloss over the fact that in excess of 100,000 marched through Hyde Park in 1867, the culmination of 1-2 years of huge labour unrest.

Meh. Really, it depends what you read. The Capitalist press will portray any Socialist uprising as a 'coup', whilst glossing over Fascist counter-revolutions/coups such as in Chile as 'economic freedom'. The truth, however, is often far different (and more interesting, if History is your thing).

[Os Cangaceiros]

Did the USA ever face a socialist threat?

I don't think that the US capitalist system ever faced real, life-threatening danger, but there have been several serious events that definitely made it concerned. Two that come to mind are the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 (which resulted briefly in a commune in St. Louis), and the Pullman Strike of 1894. Both resulted in soldiers being sent in to quell the quickly spreading rebellions. The Depression decade also saw quite a bit of unrest and rebellion, and on more fronts than just organized labor...large groups of people would gather on eviction days in order to prevent the authorities from throwing people out of their homes.


What about Europe?

1918.