Albert Goldman

Albert Goldman (1897–1960) was a Belarusian-born American political and civil rights lawyer, closely associated with the American communist movement. Goldman broke with the mainline Communist Party, USA in 1933, joining the Trotskyist opposition, in which he would be a leading participant for the better part of the next two decades. Goldman is best remembered as a defendant and lead defense attorney in the 1941 Smith Act prosecution of the leadership of the Socialist Workers Party.

For opposing America's involvement in World War II, Goldman was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Background Albert Goldman was born of Jewish parents in 1897 in the Minsk Governorate of today's Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. The family emigrated to the United States in 1904, when Albert was 7, settling in the Midwestern metropolis of Chicago. Goldman's intellectual unease grew and he became connected with the Trotskyist opposition movement, leading to Goldman's expulsion from the Communist Party, USA in 1933.

Works

The Struggle for Power: From a Proletarian Viewpoint. As Albert Verblin. New York: Workers' Educational League, n.d. [c. 1921]. Charge: Rioting; Verdict: Not Guilty!: A Plea to a Jury by Albert Goldman, Attorney for the International Labor Defense. Chicago: International Labor Defense, Chicago District, n.d. . From Communism to Socialism: A Lecture Delivered before the Sixth Congressional Branch Forum of the Socialist Party of Cook County, December 7, 1934. n.c. [Chicago?]: n.p., 1935. What is Socialism?: Three Lectures for Workers. New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1938. The Assassination of Leon Trotsky: The Proofs of Stalin's Guilt. New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1940. Why We Defend the Soviet Union. New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1940. The Truth About the Minneapolis Trial of the 28: Speech for the Defense. New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1942. In Defense of Socialism: The Official Court Record of Albert Goldman's Final Speech for the Defense in the Famous Minneapolis "Sedition" Trial. New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1942. The Question of Unity Between the Workers Party and the Socialist Workers Party. Long Island City: Workers Party, 1947.