Beginning Saturday January 7th 2006, the Socialist Party of Michigan will be hosting a class-discussion series on the book Socialism On Trial by James P. Cannon. Classes will run from 2:00PM until approximately 5:00PM and will continue every other Saturday after the 7th for at least six weeks. All classes are open to the public and will be held at the Socialist Party of Michigan state office in Kalamazoo.
Socialism on Trial consists of Cannon’s verbatim courtroom testimony from the 1941 Minneapolis trial in which leaders of the Socialist Workers Party were charged with violating the Smith Act by allegedly “plotting the violent overthrow of the US government” by engaging in socialist political activism. On the witness stand, Cannon is asked to testify in great detail about the theory and history of socialism in both the United States and Russia. Instead of merely trying to defend his innocence of violating the dubious charges arising from the Smith Act, Cannon uses the trial as an opportunity to educate the public about what socialism really is. As a result of Cannon’s extensive testimony, Socialism on Trial has become one of the best and most well known introductions to revolutionary democratic socialism.
Copies of the book can be obtained several different ways. You can print the book directly from the Marxists Internet Archive by clicking hereYou can also purchase a new copy for $16 from Pathfinder Press by clicking here or a new or used copy starting at nine dollars from Amazon.com by clicking hereYou can also purchase an internet-printed copy in a three-ring binder directly by the SPMI for five dollars to cover printing costs. If you intend to purchase a three-ring binder copy from the SPMI, please let us know in advance by contacting us by email at LAN_EMAIL_SUBS or by phone at (269) 598-0534.
The Socialist Party of Michigan state office, where all class-discussions will be held, is located at 508 E. Frank St. #3 Kalamazoo, MI 49007. From the East take I-94 to the Westnedge exit (Exit 76) and proceed north. After several miles you will pass Bronson Park on your right and the next street will be Michigan running east-west through downtown. Turn right onto Michigan and proceed for approximately half a mile. Within approximately 200 yards after passing over the train tracks, turn right onto Walbridge (this is a little cross street that is right before Michigan stops being one- way). Take Walbridge 3 blocks to Frank Street. Turn right on Frank St. and park. The SPMI state office is the large grayish warehouse on the corner and the buzzer is #3. A map and directions directly from your starting point can be obtained by going to mapquest.com or maps.yahoo.com.
Click Here to Download Our Flyer for the SPMI Socialism On Trial Class Series for Printing and Distribution