American Communism as a topic can seem paradoxical in a few ways. For one, it overtly seems strange to associate the adjective "American" with the noun "Communism." But there are deeper paradoxes; such as the notion that Communism can exist in America as a genuinely "American" concept--isolated from the Soviet Union and the international Communist movement. There is also the dynamic of multiple "communisms" existing in America, represented by a series of organizations: The Socialist Party of the USA, the Communist Party of the USA, the Revolutionary Communist Party, and the Communist Party of Canada.
At this year's 2015 North American Labor History Conference (nalhc.wayne.edu), it looks like there will be a panel dedicated to Communist activism in North America. Even better, it seems that we might have direct insider commentary on the panels. This puts American Communism into what I consider to be a new perspective; one that includes Communism across all of North America. But why stop there?
We could go further, and link socialist movements in Latin America to the overall theme of American Communism. Why? Because socialist movements on the American continents were unique affairs; merely framed contextually by the Cold War between East and West. Who are we, for example, to deem the socialist movements of Latin America and the United States as solely the result of foreign influences? How are we to conclude, absolutely, that socialist campaigns could not originate from the specific conditions of American societies?
It is my view that we cannot do these things without simultaneously denying the whims and desires of local populations.
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