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Commentary on the International Workingmen's Association
First International
Established September 28, 1864, St. Martin's Hall, London
First Congress: Geneva, September 3-8, 1866
Second Congress: Lausanne, September 2-7, 1867
Third Congress: Brussels, September 6-13, 1868
Fourth Congress: Basle, September 6-12, 1869
Because of the Franco-Prussian War official Congresses could not be held in 1870 and 1871. Nevertheless in the summer of 1871 a conference was held in London where the Bakuninists were virtually absent. The meeting backed the minority in Geneva which was in conflict with the majority Juraissieene section, strengthened the General Council's authority over sections, and endorsed a commitment to political action. Utin was also charged with writing a pamphlet to expose Bakunin.
Fifth Congress: The Hague, September 2-7, 1872 (schism congress)
Sixth Congress: Geneva, September 1-6, 1873. (Bakuninist)
Seventh Congress: Brussels, September 7-12, 1874 (Bakuninist)
Eighth Congress: Bern, October 26-29, 1876 (Bakuninist)
Ninth Congress: Verviers, September 6-8, 1877 (Bakuninist)
Jura Federation
Founded on October 9, 1870 at a meeting in Saint-Imier of local sections of the IWA.
Sonvilier, November 12, 1871, first separate congress of the Jura Federation.
Le Locle, May 19, 1872
La Chaux de Fonds, August 18, 1872
Special Congress at St. Imier, September 14, 1872 in response to the Hague Congress of the IWA. The Hague resolutions were rejected. Bakunin represented the Sovillier section at this congress.
Neuchatel, April 27, 1873.
Saint-Imier, August 4-6, 1877
Fribourg, August 3-5, 1878
La Chaux-de-Fonds, October 12, 1879
La Chaux-de-Fonds, October 9-10, 1880
London, 1881
Reinstated the International Working People's Association -- the "Black International."
Lausanne 1882
Anarchist International
London, 1881
Those attending included Peter Kropotkin, Errico Malatesta, Johann Neve, Emile Gautier, Louise Michel and Gusave Brocher. Also included were representatives from five U.S. groups. Neve represented the New York section of the SLP, Brocher represneted the libertarian commune in Adams County, Iowa, the Boston Revolutionists were represented by Marie P. Le Compte, and Carl Seelig represented both the Social-Revolutionary Club in New York and a club from Philadelphia.
Paris, 1889
Chicago, 1893
Zurich, 1896
Amsterdam, 1907
- International Workingmen's Association Founded in London, September 28, 1864
- "Composed initially of five national groupings, each with its peculiar view of the means and ends of working-class action, the Association and its organizational embodiment, the General Council.... was intended to act as a centre of communication and co-operation between them." (Stafford, 1971, p. 7.)
Marx was chosen to elaborate the statutes, which were ratified in Geneva in 1866. The ratified statutes were almost entirely Marx's work (Meijer, p. 74).
- Congress of 1866, Geneva
- The statues written largely by Marx were approved. Anyone who accepted the statues could become a member of the IWA. The members were organized into sections, which could be united in national federations and the general council was to be an administrative body carrying out executive functions, but it was to have no power over the sections.
- Congress of 1867, Lausanne
- Called for the collective ownership of the banks and means of transport.
Shortly after the Lausanne conference the League of Peace and Freedom, with Bakunin present, met in Geneva.
- Congress of 1868, Brussels
- Passed a resolution calling for the collectivization of land as well as of mines, quarries, forests and means of communication. "A majority of the delegates who voted for collective property at the Brussels Congress envisaged as their ultimate aim its decentralized control, under workers' co-operatives, such as was advocated by César de Paepe, who had provided the initiative leading to the Brussels debate." (Stafford, 1971, p. 9.)
Conress refused to accept the League of Peace and Freedom into the International.
- Congress of January 1869, Geneva
- Founding of French-Speaking Swiss Federation, the Fédération Romande.
- Congress of September 1869, Basle
- Attended by Bakunin, but not Marx. Bakunin succeeded in getting a motion accepted for the abolition of private property. Bakunin also voted in favor of strengthening the General Council's authority with regard to disobedient sections. (Meijer, p. 76.) During the congress, Liebknecht spread the rumor that Bakunin was a Russian spy.
- Congress of April 1870, La Chaux-de-Fonds
- Second annual meeting of the Fédération Romande. Split emerges between supporters and critics of the London General Council. The General Council did not recognize the majority, led by James Guillaume.
- Congress of September 1871, London
- This conference marked Marx's attempt to commit the IWMA to his principles. "...the Conference of London [was] under the firm control of Marx [and] committed the International to the doctrine of the need for the working class to capture political power." (Stafford, 1971, p. 11-12.)
- Congress of November 1871, Sonvilier
- Jura Federation formally established as Fédération Jurassienne.
The Bulletin de la Fédération Jurassieene appeared in February 1872 as the official oran of the Jura Federation. The Congress decided to send a circular to all sections of the International with the demand that the the extension of the General Council's authority be recinded
- Congress of 1872, Hague
- "The Hague Congress was, in Marx's eyes, decisive for the future of the International...As if to prove it, he appeared for the first time at one of the Association's Congresses. His aim was to increase the powers of the General Council and expel Bakunin and Guillaume." (Stafford, 1971, p. 12.) "Even the English Federation, for a long time a bastion of support for the Council, was no longer secure, and it disavowed the Hague Resolutions in January 1873. Within the following few months the resolutions had been repudiated by the French, Belgian, Spanish, American, English and Dutch Federations. The Jura Federation had immediately dissociated itself at the Congress of St. Imier of September 1872." (Staford, 1971, p. 12.) The Congress, nevertheless, extended the General Council's authority, committed the IWA to political action. In addition Bakunin and Guillaume had their membership recinded, but Schwitzguebel survived a vote for his removal. A last decision of the congress, moved by Marx, was to move the seat of the general council from London to New York. (Meijer, p.78.)
- Congress of August 1872, La Chaux-de-Fonds (Jura Federation)
- Congress of St. Imier, September 1872 (Jura Federation)
- Conveened by Jura Federation, but included representatives from the Spanish and Italian Federations and the first resolution repudiated the decisions of the Hague Congress.
- Congress of August 1873, Lyon (secret)
- Congress of September 1873, Geneva (Jura Federation)
- Called by the Jura Federation to rally federations opposed to the General Council and took on the title of the "Sixth Congress of the International". There were 24 delegates representing seven national federations. Voted unanimously to abolish the General Council.
- Congress of 1879, Jura Federation
- Kropotkin presented a report entitled Idée anarchiste au point de vue de sa réalisation pratique. "In this report Kropotkin accepted the possibility of the partial realization of collecivism but argued, as Brousse had done, that the disadvantages would be out-weighed by the advantages, in that the collectivized areas would serve to convince the general population of their superiority." (Stafford, 1971, p. 43.)
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