Early years Abraham I. Shiplacoff was born on December 13, 1877, in
Chernigov,
Ukraine, then part of the
Russian Empire. a municipal trade union federation based in New York City. He was also active in Jewish causes during the second decade of the 20th century. For instance, in September 1915, the
National Workmen's Committee on Jewish Rights held a meeting at
Cooper Union to advocate for Jewish emancipation in
Russia. Shiplacoff chaired the meeting, which resolved to ask U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson to demand that Russia grant equal rights to its Jewish citizens at the end of
World War I. Shiplacoff was active in the
Socialist Sunday School movement. For a time he was the labor editor of
The Jewish Daily Forward. He was a member of the
139th,
140th and
141st New York State Legislatures from the 23rd District of Kings County, representing
Brownsville, Brooklyn. Shiplacoff found his first experience in as the sole Socialist member of the Assembly to be trying, as he recalled in 1916: Quite early in the session I realized that the chance for having any of my bills voted out of committee and presented on the floor of the Assembly were very scarce. This was not the result of any antagonistic feeling toward the 'lone red,' but almost entirely due to the fact that I was not open for bargaining; for the success or failure of getting one's bill out of a committee depends mainly on one's willingness to exchange courtesies... Having no concessions to make [in trading votes], I had no hopes of getting any in return. Shiplacoff therefore contented himself with what he described as "putting up a fight against the bills which were opposed to the interests of labor, or were otherwise of a vicious nature". Among the legislation proposed by Shiplacoff during this inaugural session were bills which would have required any employer placing an ad offering jobs during a strike to make that fact clear in the advertisement, tightening regulations for exits on any factory building over one story in height, banning the use of armed guards during strikes, provision of compensation for workers suffering permanent disabilities on the job, and prohibition of the employment of children under 16 years of age in a factory. (when he was joined by fellow socialist
Joseph A. Whitehorn) and 1917 (9 other socialists were also elected at this time). During the 1917 session, Shiplacoff introduced New York's first
birth control bill, which would have allowed "the dissemination of printed articles describing means of birth control". He introduced the bill on January 24, while
Margaret Sanger's sister
Ethel Byrne was on a
hunger strike in
The Tombs to protest her arrest for distributing information about birth control from their clinic in Brooklyn. Shiplacoff did have occasional successes in the Assembly, although they were often more symbolic than substantive. For instance, on March 26, 1917,
Joseph M. Callahan introduced a resolution urging the
United States Congress to pass a measure, known as the Chamberlain bill, requiring the United States to prepare for entry into World War I. Shiplacoff objected on the procedural grounds that Assembly rules forbade resolutions to be introduced after March 1 except by the unanimous consent of the members, which caused the resolution to be returned to its proposer. The rules were amended, allowing the reintroduction of the resolution two days later. Supporters attacked Shiplacoff for his opposition, with Assemblyman
Martin G. McCue saying that: It's you and your kind which have changed my views on the subject of compulsory military service. We tried conscription to make you and your kind do your bit. If I believed as you do I would turn in my citizen papers and resign from the Assembly." Shiplacoff replied: You have no right to challenge my patriotism because I happen to disagree with you.
1918 legislative session , 1919 Shiplacoff became the leader of the Socialists in the State Assembly for the 1918 legislative session. On February 11, 1918, Shiplacoff and his 9 socialist colleagues in the assembly refused to support a resolution of admiration for
Abraham Lincoln because it included language expressing gratitude for American soldiers fighting in France. The Democratic Assemblyman who had introduced the resolution attacked Shiplacoff, stating: Mr. Speaker, I have sat here long enough watching the tactics of some of the members of this House. As a true American I will refuse to sit here longer with members whose hearts are touched with treason. I come from the South, where the people sometimes take the law into their own hands. I do not approve of that, but when a man won't stand up for his country he is against it. If this thing happens again let the Lord have pity on their souls. During the same session, Assemblyman
George R. Fearon accused the socialists of preaching
free love, to which Shiplacoff replied: "I am sure that if some of the Socialists preach free love, some of the Republicans practice it." Because the Socialist Party had outpolled the Democrats (9228 to 8290) in the district's previous election, leading to the election of a Republican, Shiplacoff's candidacy led to calls for a Democratic-Republican "fusion candidate" to prevent his victory. The sitting Republican candidate,
Reuben Haskell, offered to withdraw from the race should polls indicate that he had fewer votes than Democratic candidate
George W. Martin. The plan was never put into action, however. Haskell did not withdraw and defeated Shiplacoff and Martin in November 1918.
1918 prosecution On September 23, 1918, Shiplacoff was
indicted for three counts of violation of the so-called
Espionage Act for a speech against American intervention in Russia made in
the Bronx 10 days previously. The first count charged that Shiplacoff "willfully, knowingly, and feloniously uttered and published disloyal, scurrilous, and abusive language about the military and naval forces of the United States, namely the armed forces of the United States now operating in
Siberia". The second count charged that his words were "intended to bring [those forces] into contempt, scorn, contumely, and disrepute". The third count charged that his speech was intended to incite and encourage resistance to American forces. Shiplacoff was released on $5,000 bail. The indictment against Shiplacoff, along with similar charges against
John Reed,
William J. Robinson, and others, was quashed on April 4, 1919. Attorney General
Alexander Palmer had decided that the 1918
end of the First World War obviated most such prosecutions.
Later political career Shiplacoff remained a loyal member of the Socialist Party after its 1919 split into rival Socialist and Communist organizations. He was a New York City
alderman from 1920 to 1921. In February 1920, he spoke out against the
Treaty of Versailles and against the New York State Assembly's recent suspension of its Socialist members. He stated that the Assemblymen who had voted to suspend the Socialists were "poor boobs", and that his colleagues on the
New York City Board of Aldermen were "a bunch of hypocrites". By early 1920, Shiplacoff was the manager of the New York office of the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. In March 1923, Marks Arnheim, a New York City clothing manufacturer attempted to have the ACWA and its New York Joint Board dissolved as "unlawful combinations and conspiracies" which had "the intent and purpose generally of destroying the present industrial system of ownership by private persons, firms, and corporations." As part of this suit, Shiplacoff, along with
Sidney Hillman and other union officials, was interrogated by attorneys for Marks Arnheim. Shiplacoff was defeated for re-election to the Board of Aldermen in 1921. In 1923, he was elected a delegate to the SPA's National Convention. The same year, he ran once again for the Board of Aldermen in the 50th district. His candidacy was endorsed by the
Citizens Union, but he ultimately lost the Democratic candidate. He made several more unsuccessful bids for Congress in
1926,
1928,
1930, and
1932, for State Assembly in 1922 and 1931, and for
Brooklyn Borough President in
1929. At the 1924 New York State convention of the SPA, Shiplacoff was one of only 5 delegates to oppose the successful motion to endorse
Robert M. La Follette's candidacy for president of the United States. About the party's endorsement, Shiplacoff told the
New York Times that "the Socialist Party hasn't married La Follette, the Socialist Party has married a labor party. La Follette is only a sort of father-in-law."
Death and legacy , 1938 Abraham Shiplacoff died of
uremic poisoning on February 7, 1934, in
Israel Zion Hospital in
Brooklyn, New York. He was 56 years old at the time of his death. The collection, gathered in six archival boxes measuring 3 linear feet, is open for research without restriction. ==Footnotes==