Table Of ContentDog Days
James P. Cannon vs.
Max Shachtman
in the Communist League
of America, 1931-1933
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2013
http://archive.org/details/dogdaysjamespcanOOcann
Dog Days:
James P. Cannon vs. Max Shachtman
in the Communist League of America
Books from the Prometheus Research Library
James P. Cannon and the Early Years of A merican Communism:
Selected Writings and Speeches, 1920-1928 (1992)
This volume of Cannon's writings covers the period when he was one
of the principal leaders of the American section of the Communist
International.
The Communist International After Lenin
First Russian language edition (1993)
By Leon Trotsky. Published in Moscow, from the original Russian
texts. Includes Trotsky's Critique of the 1928 draft program of the
Communist International.
Bulletins in the Prometheus Research Series
No. 1 Guidelines on the Organizational Structure of Communist Parties,
on the Methods and Content of Their Work (August 1988). Complete and
accurate English translation of 1921 Comintern Resolution from final
German text.
No. 2 Documents on the "Proletarian Military Policy" (February 1989).
Includes materials from the Trotskyist movement in the U.S. and
Europe during World War II.
No. 3 In Memoriam, Richard S. Fraser: An Appreciation and Selection of H is
Work (August 1990). A selection of the writings of comrade Richard S.
Fraser (1913-1988), who pioneered the Trotskyist understanding of black
oppression in the United States.
No. 4 Yugoslavia, East Europe and the Fourth International: The Evolution
of Pabloist Liquidationism by Jan Norden (March 1993). Covers the
internal discussion within the Fourth International over its flawed
response to the Yugoslav Revolution and the 1948 Tito-Stalin split.
No. 5 Marxist Politics or Unprincipled Combinationism? Internal Problems of
the Workers Party (September 2000). Includes Max Shachtman's document
from the 1936 internal bulletin of the Workers Party of the U.S.
Dog Days:
James P. Cannon vs.
Max Shachtman
in the Communist League
of America 1931-1933
James P. Cannon, Max Shachtman,
Leon Trotsky, and Others
Compiled, Introduced, and Edited by the
Prometheus Research Library
Prometheus Research Library
2002 NEW YORK CITY
Cover photos: Leon Trotsky at his desk in Prinkipo, 1931.
Photo by Jean Weinberg.
Inset: Shachtman (left) and Cannon in Paris at time of f ounding
of F ourth International, 1938. Photo courtesy Albert Glotzer.
Prometheus graphic from a woodcut by Fritz Brosius
Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication
Dog Days: James P. Cannon vs. Max Shachtman in the Communist
League of America, 1931-1933 /James P. Cannon, Max Shachtman,
Leon Trotsky, and others; compiled, introduced, and edited by the
Prometheus Research Library. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
LCCN 2002105685
ISBN 0-9633828-7-X(hard)
ISBN 0-9633828-8-8(Pb)
1. Communism— United States— History— Sources. 2. Socialist
Workers Party. 3. Communist League of America (Opposition).
4. Communists— Correspondence. I. Cannon, James Patrick, 1890-1974.
II. Shachtman, Max, 1903-1972. III. Trotsky, Leon, 1879-1940.
IV. Prometheus Research Library.
HX83.D64 2002 335.43'3'0973
QBI02-200415
Prometheus Research Library books
are published by:
Spartacist Publishing Company
Box 1377, G.P.O.
New York, New York 10116
Copyright© 2002 by Spartacist Publishing Company
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).©
To our comrades
Susan Adams (1948-2001)
Mary Van De Water-Quirk (1954-2000)
whose work contributed to this book
Contents
Editorial Note xvi
Introduction by the Prometheus Research Library 1
I. Shachtman in the International
The April Conference: A Disappointment in All Respects
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman, 16 April 1930 83
Where Is the International Secretariat?
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman, 18 August 1930 86
Shachtman to Be Part of International Bureau
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman, 17 November 1930 ... 89
Crisis in the French Ligue
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman, 25 November 1930 ... 92
We Must Endeavor to Collaborate With Naville and Rosmer
Max Shachtman to Leon Trotsky, 17 December 1930. ... 98
Landau Has Proven to Be a Very Unreliable Fellow
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman, 6 January 1931 102
The Fight Against Landau and Naville Is Too Sharp
Max Shachtman to Leon Trotsky, 4 March 1931 106
What Is Your Position on the German Crisis?
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman, 4 April 1931 108
On Landau, Prometeo, and Weisbord
Max Shachtman to the International Secretariat,
[Early May 1931] 109
I S ought to Avoid a Premature Split in the German Section
Max Shachtman to Leon Trotsky, 2 May 1931 112
You Bear Some Responsibility for Landau's Course
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman,
23 May 1931 114
vii
Naville Plays With Ideas
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman,
2 August 1931 117
Get the Secretariat's Cart Out of the Mud
Jan Frankel to Max Shachtman, 14 November 1931 .... 119
Molinier Is Far From Correct
Max Shachtman to Leon Trotsky, 1 December 1931 ... . 121
Who Then Should Lead the Ligue?
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman, 11 December 1931 . . 132
You Were Never on Our Side
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman, 25 December 1931 . . 133
Shachtman's Personal and Journalistic Sympathies
Leon Trotsky to the CLA National Committee,
25 December 1931 135
Too Much the Journalist
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman,
31 December 1931 136
Why Did the Militant Print Felix's Article?
Leon Trotsky to the CLA National Committee,
5January 1932 139
I Do Not Agree With Shachtman
Albert Glotzer to Leon Trotsky, 21 January 1932 ...... 141
Shachtman Acted on His Own Authority
Arne Swabeck to Leon Trotsky, 22 January 1932 144
We Should Have Informed Trotsky of American Problems
Albert Glotzer to Maurice Spector, 3 February 1932 ... 147
You Must Remain at Your Post
Leon Trotsky to Max Shachtman, 10 February 1932 . . . 149
II. The Fight
Uphold Our Revolutionary Classics!
Arne Swabeck, published 5 March 1932 153
Statement on "Uphold Our Revolutionary Classics!"
Max Shachtman, 12 March 1932 155
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