American socialist groups were already funding Lenin years before 1917.

Evidence

“The earliest meeting of Lenin with an American of which we have any knowledge is the one in 1905 with Arthur Bullard, a journalist.” “There is evidence in the Lenin archives in Moscow that would indicate that many other American workers had heard of Lenin and his activities before 1917. On December 1, 1913, the editorial board of Appeal to Reason, the biggest Socialist newspaper ever published in the United States, sent Lenin ‘16 two-page leaflets and eight 32-page pamphlets [which] comprise our list of publications to date.’ A working-class club in New York City, on March 30, 1914, sent ‘the sum of 1437 kronen and 90 heller ($292.61), which is a contribution from the Workmen’s Circle to the Russian Social-Democratic Party (Bolshevik)’ to Lenin, then in exile in Cracow, Poland. Late in 1915, the Socialist Propaganda League, a left-wing group in Boston, sent Lenin a copy of its manifesto.” — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 2254

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

Related

• Lenin was virtually unknown in the American socialist press before 1915. (similarity 0.82)