Communist Party USA

The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is one of several Marxist-Leninist groups in the United States. While the CPUSA played a significant role in organizing industrial unions and defending the rights of African-Americans in the 1930s and 1940s, it was effectively eliminated as a political force by McCarthyism and the Cold War.

Leaders of the Communist Party USA

• Charles Ruthenberg, General Secretary (1919-1927), James P. Cannon, Party Chairman, (1919-1928)
• Jay Lovestone (1927-1929)
• William Z. Foster (1929-1932)
• Earl Browder (1932-1945)
• Eugene Dennis, General Secretary (1945-1959) and William Z. Foster, Party Chairman (1945-1957)
• Gus Hall (1959-2000)
• Sam Webb (since 2000)