Discuss the socialist movement and its political influence.

Interest in socialism in the United States was stirred with the establishment of the International Workingmen's Association by Karl Marx in London in 1864. The German Workingmen's Union was formed in New York City in 1865. The socialist movement which initially sought to organize unions turned to political activities in the aftermath of the Railway Strike of 1877, with its political arm becoming the Socialist Labor Party. The public outcry which followed the 1886 Haymarket Riot served to undercut the public acceptance and legitimacy of the socialist movement.
The labor activities of the socialist movement came to be represented by the Industrial Workers of the World (the IWW, or Wobblies) during the early decades of the twentieth century. The influence of the Communist Party in labor activities, declined during World War II and the late 1940s, even though it was important during the depression period.

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