Norman Markowitz

Norman Markowitz is an Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University in New Jersey. His work is in twentieth-century U.S. political history. Markowitz writes and teaches from a Marxist perspective, and has written in recent years many articles for the History News Service, the History News Network, the journal Political Affairs, and various Encyclopedias, including the Encyclopedia of American National Biography, and the Encyclopedia of Social Movements on a variety of topics, including biographical entries on Jimmy Hoffa, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the Civil Rights movement, 1930-1953, and Poor Peoples Movements in American History.

LATEST ARTICLES BY Norman Markowitz

CP100

Against fascism and war: The Communist Party USA’s third decade
August 19, 2019 By Norman Markowitz
Was there truth to the allegation that Communists—both in the Soviet Union and around the world—had helped Hitler start World War II?
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CP100

Harry Hay: Communist pioneer in the fight for gay liberation
June 28, 2019 By Norman Markowitz
From a Communist Party activist to leader of the gay liberation struggle - the life of Harry Hay.
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CP100

Sit down! The CPUSA, the CIO, and the great industrial union drive
June 3, 2019 By Norman Markowitz
In the second half of the 1930s, Communists took on the task of organizing America's industrial workforce and fighting fascism in Spain.
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CP100

The Communist Party in the ’30s: The Depression and the great upsurge
May 14, 2019 By Norman Markowitz
When the Depression struck, Herbert Hoover and the business press said to wait for economic adjustment. But unemployed and hungry people couldn't wait.
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CP100

The Communist Party in the 1920s: The first decade of struggle
April 24, 2019 By Norman Markowitz
During its first ten years, the new Communist Party jumped into struggles on a range of fronts - from labor to racism to defense of the foreign born.
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Opinion

What fascism’s history can tell us about Trump’s takeover
November 14, 2016 By Norman Markowitz
The left should face the fact that this election is the most significant electoral victory for fascist mass politics since World War II.
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U.S.

In the vanguard for gay liberation: The life of Communist organizer Harry Hay
June 7, 2016 By Norman Markowitz
In 1950, Harry Hay, longtime Communist and union activist, founded the Mattachine Society, one of America's first LGBTQ rights organizations.
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U.S.

Would-be president Christie exposed by his New Jersey record
July 27, 2015 By Norman Markowitz
While Chris Christie campaigns for the presidency, the people of New Jersey continue to suffer the consequences of his disastrous policies.
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