A. M. Stirton (1872–1939) was an American politician who participated in political activity as a member of the Socialist Party of America and the Industrial Workers of the World. Stirton eventually shifted his views away from electoral politics and advocated "direct action" in the industrial sector."Direct Action" by A.M. Stirton published in Solidarity [New Castle, PA] Vol. 1, No. 1, December 18, 1909.
Socialist Party
Stirton was a delegate to the 1908 convention of the Socialist Party of America held in Chicago, Illinois where he was one of two delegates representing the state of Michigan.Delegates to the 1908 Convention of the Socialist Party of America, Accessed June 13, 2014 That same year, he was a Socialist candidate for governor in Michigan, gaining 1.74% of the vote.1908 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Michigan Accessed on June 13, 2014 Along with his campaign in Michigan, he toured the Midwest with Socialist Party presidential candidate Eugene Debs."Socialist Candidate Through Here", The Plymouth Tribune, Vol. 7, No. 51, September 24, 1908 He also was a candidate for the Michigan State Board of Education in 1909.Index to Politicians, Accessed June 13, 2014
During this period, Stirton was based in Hancock, Michigan and edited a socialist newspaper titled The Wage Slave.Gary Kaunonen and Aaron Goings, Community in Conflict: A Working-class History of the 1913–14 Michigan Copper Strike and the Italian Hall Tragedy, (Lansing: MSU Press, 2013) The Wage Slave was described in an advertisement as "revolutionary to the core" and "the enemy of everything that supports the existing order.""The Wage Slave" in Blue Grass Blade, Accessed June 13, 2014 The publication had national recognition and gave Stirton a role in national Socialist politics.Gary Kaunonen and Aaron Goings, Community in Conflict: A Working-class History of the 1913–14 Michigan Copper Strike and the Italian Hall Tragedy, pages=71-74 (Lansing: MSU Press, 2013) The Wage Slave was published by the Työmies Publishing Company."Challenge Accepted Synopsis and Chapter List", July 10, 2009.
Turn away from electoral politics
By 1909, Stirton had turned away from electoral politics, believing instead that workers must engage in industrial action along syndicalist lines to achieve liberation.James Oneal, Sabotage or Socialism Vs. Syndicalism , (The National Rip-Saw Publishing Co., 1913), p. 23. This change in views brought Stirton into the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) where he organized in the 1910s.
With the Industrial Workers of the World, Stirton was an active organizer. He edited the IWW newspaper Solidarity for a brief period in 1909.Mob Work: Anarchists in Grand Rapids, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Sprout Distro, 2014), p. 26. Following that period, Stirton moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he organized with Industrial Workers of the World Local 202. Stirton was a frequent IWW lecturer in Grand Rapids.Mob Work: Anarchists in Grand Rapids, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Sprout Distro, 2014), pgs. 26 and 27
A.M. Stirton also authored the IWW pamphlet "Getting Recognition: What It Means to a Union" that was published and distributed by the national organization.Getting recognition : what it means to a union The pamphlet was critical of official union recognition."Wild Pamphlets of Industrialists", The American Employer, August, 1912
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