The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-02-22
Washington's Birthday

been something uOly ana SdCItu III AHAsA4OaA1
historg name supposedly not subject to the ordinary
processes OF historical analysis.
George Washington, OF course, played a leading
pa1l in che of the revolutionary periods OF American
history
But it is deliberately concealed from the Arneri-
can masses that he played equally leading part in
the bloody counter-revolution against the poverty
stricken masses Of the colonies Immediately after the
end Of the War for Independence.
It is deliberately concealed from the American
masses that Washington the leader Of the rich
land-owning mercantile capitalism of the colonies, Of
the Young American bourgeoise which entered on to
war a revolutionary war, it is true, but war whose
main objective was the defense of private capitalist
property Of the defense Of the right OF the American
bourgeose to exploit the United States without having
TO share with the British ruling classes the plumber
wrested from the American masses!
This war was a historically revolutionary war
since it broke the remnant bonds OF feuda-natonal
oppression Of Britain over America. And the masses
fought this battle for The young American bourgeoise
RI is TO this revolutionary tight for national liberia
l ton TO which Lenin referred in his remarkable
Letter to the American Working Class" (printed in
the Daily Worker Jan. 2O) when he said:
"The American people have revolutionary tradi-
tiOns which being adopted by the best repre-
sentatives of the American prOletariat who Civ
ing repeated expression OF their solidarity with us,
the Bolsheviks This tradition is the of liberia
ton against the English in the 18th century and
the Civil War in the 18th century.
But in this bourgeois national war, the property
less workers artisans, the small, poverty-stricken
farmers were cheated of the fruits of the victory which
they had paid for with their blood the batteelds
After the war, the power of the rich landlords the
rapidly rising wealthy merchants in the cities, grew
even more oppressive over the masses than ever before
And this intense misery Of the masses who had
D71g1t Uifh such Of
upper classes broke forth in the Shays Rebellion and
the Whisky Rebellion uprisings by which the poverty
stricken small debtors and artisans sought to break
the chains Of their Indebtedness to the rich merchant
landlords, whom Washington and Adams represented
These uprsings, representative of the desire OF
SIC American masses TO reap the fruits of the revou-
ton were drowned in blood by Washingtons troops
They were menace to property" that u.s. to capt.
talist property, and they we're crushed in bloody
ounter-revolutiOn with George Washington at the
head OF the oppressors.
The American bourgeoisie, with Washington at
sneig head thus followed the well-trodden path OF
historic betrayal by all capitalist ruling classes
in their struggles against feudalism and national servi-
tude to. a stronger power. They used the American
propertyless workeTs-and then betrayed them When
tine artisans and farmers tried to carry the revou-
Eon to It's logical conclusions against the slavery Of
Indebtedness
In 1776, when the American bourgeoise needed
TIE support OF the American WORKERS and farmers
they taught them the Declaration OF Independence
that ii right, just and necessary for people to
use armed revolutionary methods to overthrow op-
preston
In this oomgeois-reyoiutonar document they told
the American masses:
Whenever any form OF government becomes de-
Sructive Of these ends then IL the right Of the
people to alter abolish it and institute new gov
eminent.
When it suited their class needs the American
bourgeoise did not hesitate to use revolutionary
armed struggles did not hesitate to seize power
through forceful overthrow of the British rule
But, today, when American capitalism has be-
come historically reactonary and parasitic when Its
existence has become curse to the vast majority
of the American people, when it can only bring ever
increasing crisis and suffering to the majority of re
American masses, the bourgeOisie strives to bury
these early traditions of armed struggle for the over
throw OF oppression.
Today they strive to bury the traditions of revo
Mtionary, armed seizure OF power from a parasitic
depressing class
Today only the proletariat is the inheyitor OF the
best traditions of armed revolutionary struggle against
oppression and exploitation.
TO-DAY there are those who would pretend To he
the revolutionary leaders of the American masses
by pretending to be the inheritors Of the American
revolutionary traditions Such are the Mstes of the
newly -IidtCLieu american workers Party Bert
Wolfes of the Lovestone renegades
But these gentlemen seek to cripple the reyolu-
tionary struggles Of the American working class bv
separating them from the international REVOLUTIONARY
struggles OF the world proletariat the epoch-akinp
struggles OF the Paris Commune of the Russian work
ing class in 1905 and 1917 the experiences Of the Chi
1ese masses in the Canton Commune of 1927 of the
German working class and Austrian working cass
and above ALL Of the world-historc creation of the
Soviet Republic OF the US.SR! The REVOLUTIONARY
traditions OF the American masses are now part Of
the greater immense reservoir Of revolutionary ex
perience OF Marxisn- Leninism, Of Bolshevism
But those who would pretend to inherit the reyo
lutionary traditions of American history without
merging and enriching these traditions with the in
ternatonal experience of the world proetariat en-
bodied in Marxsm- Leninsm, not revoIutionaries
but pedantic reactiOnaries in disguise!
Without Bolshev7sm the traditions of the Amer.
lean revolution can only be used TO serve reactionary
naticnalistiC jngoistic ends
without Bolsheyism, without Marxisp1- / ennisn,
the traditions OF the American revolution become
harrow, jingoistic, chauvinistic Thew become in The
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