The Masses - Nov/Dec 1917

The Masses - Nov/Dec 1917

The Masses was published by Max Eastman from 1911 through 1917. It was an socialist arts and literary magazine publishing nonfiction in addition to art, cartoons, fiction and poetry. Following the passage of The Espionage Act in 1917, several attempts were made to label The Masses treasonous. Finally, a number of editors were indicted for obstructing military recruitment. In two consecutive trials the jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision. John Reed, who had been in Russia when first indicted, traveled back to New York for the trial, which came to represent attempted censorship of the leftist media. The Masses was succeeded by The Liberator and later by The New Masses. Each of these later iterations was more closely associated with the American Communist Party.

Of the images presented here, two are illustrations from The Masses. The second, a cartoon was reprinted from a French publication, Les Homme de Jour. The third is a poem published in The Liberator by Max Eastman.

https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/masses/issues/t078-v09n12-m76-oct-1917-masses.pdf

https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/masses/issues/t079-v10n01-02-m77-78-nov-dec-1917-masses-end.pdf

http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/culture/pubs/liberator/1918/09/v1n09-nov-1918-liberator.pdf

1917