A. C. Miller (politician)

A. C. Miller
Miller c. 1925
Member of the North Dakota House of Representatives
from the 41st district
In office
January 6, 1925 – January 4, 1927
Preceded byMulti-member district
Succeeded byMulti-member district
Personal details
Born1870
Missouri, U.S.
DiedFebruary 3, 1941 (aged 70)
Williston, North Dakota, U.S.
PartySocialist (1902–1915)
Nonpartisan League (after 1915)
Workers (1923–1928)
Farmer–Labor (after 1925)
Communist League (1928–1930)
Republican (after 1930)

A. C. Miller (1870 – February 3, 1941)[1][2] was an American farmer and politician who served as a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1925 to 1927, representing Williams and McKenzie counties[3] as a member of the Nonpartisan League.[4][5] He was also an open member of the Workers Party of America,[1][6] making him one of the first communist legislators in the United States.[a]

Political career

At the time of his election, Miller was secretary of the Workers Party branch in Williston,[8] a fact that was first reported by the Daily Worker and quickly picked up on by the local press.[9][10] During his tenure, Miller introduced a resolution calling on the U.S. government to establish "full diplomatic and commercial relations" with the Soviet Union.[11] He also sponsored legislation to ratify the Child Labor Amendment and institute a progressive income tax.[12]

Although he was renominated on the newly-organized[6][13] Farmer–Labor ballot line in 1926,[14] he was defeated in the general election by a margin of seven to one.[3][15] He tried again in 1928,[16] 1930,[17] 1936[18] and 1938, all unsuccessfully.[19] He also ran for State Senate in 1932,[20] during which he organized 2,000 farmers in Williams county to advocate for a plan to fix the price of wheat, a proposal that was supported by former lieutenant governor Usher L. Burdick.[21]

Communist Party politics

In 1927, shortly after the death of Communist Party Executive Secretary C. E. Ruthenberg, party leaders James P. Cannon and William Weinstone criticized the organization for not capitalizing on Miller's victory further, which they viewed as a missed opportunity to build up the party in North Dakota.[13]

Miller was active in the Communist Party as late as August 1928.[22] That December, he wrote a letter to the The Militant (the official organ of the Trotskyist Communist League of America) in which he criticized the Communist Party for its unfair treatment of oppositional factions,[23] which led to his expulsion from the party.[24] He was in turn suspended from the Communist League in 1930 for running for State House on the Republican ticket.[25]

Works

Articles

Notes

  1. ^ Although the Communist Party's official magazine dubbed him "first Communist farmer to be elected to a legislative body in the United States,"[1] secret party member Charles E. Taylor was elected to the Montana Senate two years prior as a Farmer–Laborite.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c "North Dakota's Communist Legislator". The Workers Monthly. Vol. IV, no. 6. April 1925. pp. 272–273. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  2. ^ "A. C. Miller". The Fargo Forum. Fargo. February 3, 1941. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Thorson, Herman (1942). North Dakota Blue Book, 1942. Bismarck: Bismarck Prig. Co. pp. 191, 193. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  4. ^ "LEAGUERS CLASH ON G. O. P. ISSUE". The Fargo Forum. Fargo. January 24, 1924. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  5. ^ "N. D. ASSEMBLY CONTROL STILL UNDECIDED ON DAY'S RETURNS". The Fargo Forum. Fargo. November 5, 1924. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "CONVENTION MAY ADOPT A COMPLETE PLATFORM". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck. December 18, 1925. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  7. ^ McDonald, Verlaine Stoner (2010). The Red Corner: The Rise and Fall of Communism in Northeastern Montana. Montana Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-9759196-7-5. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  8. ^ "COMMUNISTS OF NORTH DAKOTA SCORE AT POLLS". Daily Worker. Chicago. November 18, 1924. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  9. ^ "COMMUNIST IS HOUSE MEMBER". The Fargo Forum. Fargo. November 21, 1924. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  10. ^ "Radical Newspaper Claims One Communist For N. D. Legislature". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks. November 22, 1924. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  11. ^ "RELATIONS WITH SOVIET RUSSIA ASKED IN N. D." Daily Worker. Chicago. February 3, 1925. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  12. ^ Knutson, Alfred (January 10, 1925). "NORTH DAKOTA FARMERS GREET COMMUNIST BILLS". Daily Worker. Chicago. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  13. ^ a b James P. Cannon and the Early Years of American Communism: Selected Writings and Speeches, 1920–1928. New York: Prometheus Research Library. 1992. pp. 427–429. ISBN 0-9633828-0-2. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  14. ^ "Communist Member Of House Renominated". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks. February 10, 1926. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  15. ^ Dyson, Lowell K. (1982). Red Harvest: The Communist Party & American Farmers. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 40. ISBN 0803216599. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  16. ^ "MADDOCK AND FRAZIER MEET". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks. October 10, 1928. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  17. ^ "Nonpartisans Fight For House Control". The Fargo Forum. Fargo. June 6, 1930. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  18. ^ "THIRD COLUMN ENTRIES FILE". The Fargo Forum. Fargo. September 24, 1936. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  19. ^ "SOLONS SEEK RE-ELECTION". The Fargo Forum. Fargo. June 5, 1938. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  20. ^ "5 Presidential Candidates on Ballots Nov. 8". The Fargo Forum. Fargo. September 30, 1932. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  21. ^ "THE WILLIAMS COUNTY IDEA". The Fargo Forum. Fargo. February 15, 1932. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  22. ^ "WORKERS PARTY GETS ON BALLOT". Daily Worker. Chicago. August 15, 1928. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  23. ^ Miller, A. C. (December 15, 1928). "FROM THE FIRST COMMUNIST LEGISLATOR" (PDF). The Militant. New York. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  24. ^ Omholt, Andrew (June 7, 1930). "The Tremendously Revolutionary Trotskyites!". Daily Worker. New York. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  25. ^ "Comrade A. C. Miller Suspended" (PDF). The Militant. New York. August 15, 1930. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
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