More on the founding of the Socialist Workers Party.

Socialist Appeal. Vol. 2 No. 2. January 8, 1938.

Contents: New Party Formed; To Fight War Plans, Left Wing Delegates Found Socialist Workers Party at Convention in Chicago, Convention Resolutions, Convention Sidelights, Appeal View Confirmed in “Robinson”-GPU Mystery by Junius, Minneapolis Unionists Bring Suit for Libel Against Daily Worker, Leaders Accept Speed-up; Akron Workers Aroused, The Lessons of Spain—the Last Warning by Leon Trotsky, In the Teacher’s Union, Popular Front Breaks French Sit-Downs; Gov’t Calls Troops by Terence Phelan, Army for Fascist Coup, French Hearings Reveal by Pierre Naville, Fellow Travelers! (cartoon) by Carlo, Party Activities.

There have been a number of periodicals named Socialist Appeal in our history, this Socialist Appeal was edited in New York City by the “Left Wing Branches of the Socialist Party”. After the Workers Party (International Left Opposition) entered the Socialist Party in 1936, the Trotskyists did not have an independent publication. However, Albert Goldman began publishing a monthly Socialist Appeal in Chicago in February 1935 before the bulk of Trotskyist entered the SP. When there, they began publishing Socialist Appeal in August 1937 as the weekly paper of the “Left Wing Branches of the Socialist Party” but in reality edited by Cannon and other leaders. Goldman’s Chicago Socialist Appeal would fold into the New York paper and this Socialist Appeal would replace New Militant as the main voice of Fourth Internationalist in the US. After the expulsion of the Trotskyists from the the Socialist Party, Socialist Appeal became the weekly organ of the newly constituted Socialist Workers Party in early 1938. Edited by James Cannon and Max Shachtman, Felix Morrow, and Albert Goldman. In 1941 Socialist Appeal became The Militant again.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/themilitant/socialist-appeal-1938/v2n02-jan-08-1938-SA.pdf