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The Revolutionary Road of the Young: How the Young Communist League Was Born in America?
The Young Communist League (YCLUSA), a communist youth organization in the United States, is dedicated to training young people to become communists. The organization achieves its goals through the study of socialism and active participation in the struggles of the American working class. YCLUSA seeks to represent the representative party of American socialism, the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), and operates as its youth wing. Although the organization's name has changed many times, its roots can be traced back to 1920, shortly after the founding of the first Communist parties in the United States.
"We are not only preparing our children for the class struggle in the future, we are now leading them to participate in the class struggle!"
The history of the YCL can be traced back to its early days as an underground movement. In 1920, the prototype of a "Young People's Communist League" already existed. The organization sent a fraternal delegate to the Second Unified Communist Party Congress in December of that year to discuss the youth situation in the United States. At the meeting, it was decided to form a serious youth organization, to be named the Young Communist League. The meeting also adopted a series of measures to help youth organizations develop, including providing documentary support, organizing new units and arranging financial assistance.
In May 1922, the YCL's founding convention was held in Bethel, Connecticut. It was a small meeting with only fourteen delegates from four communist regions in attendance. At the meeting, members listened to a report by Max Bedacht of the Adult Party and discussed the future direction of international communism and the organization. The conference also adopted the organization's constitution and program and elected a five-member National Executive Committee. The initiation fee to join the YCL is 50 cents, the monthly dues are 25 cents, and the basic unit of organization is the "group", ideally consisting of five to ten members.
"Let us remember that we are different from the old children's organizations in this respect."
As the 1930s approached, the YCL further developed its organizational structure and held a national convention in New York City in 1943, where it passed a resolution to disband and then reorganize as American Youth for Democracy (AYD). Although the name has been changed, in practice all important positions are still held by former YCL members. In 1949, the Communist Party re-established a youth organization called the Workers' Youth League, but this was disbanded following internal conflicts after the Hungarian Revolution in 1956.
As history evolved, members of the YCL continued to participate in social movements and in 1984 resumed activities under the name of the "Young Communist League". In 2019, the 31st National Convention of the Communist Party of the United States passed a resolution to re-establish the Young Communist League.
“The root of YCL is the strong desire of young people to participate in social movements, which is an important entry point for contemporary young people to pursue a better life in the future.”
Looking back at the history of the Young Communist League, we see the changes of the times and the role and importance of young people in different social and political movements. Today, the existence of YCL is not only a continuation of history, but also a look into the future, calling on more young people to join contemporary social movements. In a rapidly changing society, how will the voices and actions of young people shape the future political landscape?
