On July 15, 1876, ten Americans and one German convened in Philadelphia to announce the abolition of the
General Council of the International Workingmen's Association. The Workingmen Party of the United States was formed on July 19, with the involvement of
Friedrich Sorge. The foundation of the party was pushed by the
Social-Democratic Workingmen's Party of North America, which broke away from the
International Workingmen's Association in 1874. The WPUS was unable to field its own ticket in the
1876 presidential election and its members supported
Peter Cooper and the
Greenback Party instead. The party, composed mostly of foreign-born laborers, represented a collection of socialist ideas from different groups, most notably followers of
Karl Marx and
Ferdinand Lassalle. The Lassallean faction believed in forming a socialist political party to advance their agenda incrementally through the electoral process. Marxian socialists, however, opposed to reformism believed in forming a socialist party as an instrument of organization of the proletariat to propagate consciousness leading to an ultimate revolutionary seizing of state power. They championed strong trade unions, strikes, and boycotts to develop class consciousness through class conflict. The party at first had little influence over any politics in the United States on a national or local level. Much like the
International Workingmen's Association in America before it, the WPUS was widely viewed as socialistic. However, during the
railroad strikes during the summer of 1877, the party, led by the charismatic and well-spoken American
Albert Parsons, showed some of its power by rallying support for the striking railroad workers. As the WPUS formed, co-founder
Joseph Patrick McDonnell stated, "The Trades Unions should be guided to renounce political action until a powerful labor party can resolve upon beginning it." Although the WPUS was largely unsuccessful in the strikes it helped lead, on August 6, 1878 the party had managed to gain enough support to capture 5 out of 7
Louisville seats in the
Kentucky state legislature. As news spread around the country of the success of the WPUS, more "Workingmen's Parties" formed in cities around the country, some chartered by the WPUS and some not. The WPUS held its first national convention in December 1877, and was attended by 38 delegates. The
Lassallean-led organization reorganized the party into the
Socialist Labor Party of America. ==Notable members==