John Maclean (politician)

For the Premier of British Columbia see John Duncan Maclean

John Maclean MA

John Maclean MA (24 August 1879- 30 November 1923)^[1] was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary socialist. He is primarily known as a Marxist educator and notable for his outspoken opposition to the First World War. Maclean is regarded as one of the leading figures of the Red Clydeside era.^[2] His imprisonment for agitation against the war earned him an international reputation and he was elected an honorary vice-president of the Congress of Soviets and appointed Bolshevik representative in Scotland.^[3]

Early Life

Maclean was born in Pollockshaws, then on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland, to parents of Highland origin; his father Daniel (1845-1888) hailing from the Isle of Mull and his mother Ann (1846-1914) from Corpach.^[4] Raised in a Calvinist household, Maclean trained as a schoolteacher under the auspices of the Free Church and then attended part-time classes at the University of Glasgow, graduating with a Master of Arts degree in 1904. (Maclean often used the letters M.A. after his name when being published).

Political Development

Maclean first came to politics through the Pollockshaws Progressive Union and Robert Blatchford's Merrie England. He became convinced that the living standards of the working-classes could only be improved by social revolution and it was as a Marxist that he joined the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), and remained in the organisation as it formed the British Socialist Party. Maclean was also an active member of the Co-operative movement and it was his prominent role that led the Renfrewshire Co-operative Societies to pressurise local school boards to provide facilities for adult classes in economics.^[5]

Marxist Educator

By the time of World War I his socialism was of a revolutionary nature, although he worked with others on the left who were more reformist in outlook, such as his friend James Maxton. He heavily opposed the war, as he felt it was a war of imperialism which divided workers from one another, as he explained in his letter to Forward (transcript).^[6] His politics made him well known to the authorities of the day, and in 1915 he was arrested in 1915 under the Defence of the Realm Act^[7] and Govan School Board sacked him from his teaching post at Lorne Street School.^[8] As a consequence he became a full-time Marxist lecturer and organiser, educating other Glaswegian workers in Marxist theory. He would later found the Scottish Labour College. During World War I he was active in anti-war circles and was imprisoned for his efforts in 1916, but was released in 1917 after demonstrations following the February Revolution in Russia.

Relationship with Russia

In January 1918 Maclean was elected to the chair of the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets and a month later appointed Bolshevik consul in Scotland.^[9] He established a Consulate at 12 Portland Street in Glasgow but was refused recognition by the British Government.^[10]

As a revolutionary enemy of what he saw as an imperialist war, Maclean was fiercely opposed to the stance adopted by the leadership of the BSP around H. M. Hyndman. However he was not to be a part of the new leadership which replaced Hyndman in 1916.

Formation of the Communist Party

As the BSP was the main constituent organisation which merged into the newly formed Communist Party of Great Britain, Maclean was alienated from the new party despite his support for the Communist International. He developed a belief that workers in Scotland could develop in a revolutionary direction more swiftly than their comrades in England and Wales, and attempted to found a Scottish Communist Party. This grouping renamed itself the Communist Labour Party and dropped Maclean's distinctive positions, so he left in disgust. He attempted to found a new Scottish Communist Party, without success. It seems that he may have become a member of the Socialist Labour Party at this time.

Republican Socialism

It was around this time that Maclean become more nationalistic in thought and he eventually formed the Scottish Workers Republican Party which combined Communism with a belief in Scottish independence. Maclean's call for a Communist Republic of Scotland was based on the belief that traditional Scottish society was structured along the lines of "Celtic communism". He argued that "the communism of the clans must be re-established on a modern basis" and raised the slogan "back to communism and forward to communism"

John Maclean's casket being removed from his Pollokshaws home.

Death and Legacy

When Maclean died, aged 44, his health broken by years of imprisonment, several thousand people lined the streets of Glasgow to see his funeral procession pass, such was his reputation. He left a legacy that has subsequently been claimed by both the Scottish Nationalist and Labour movements, making him rare in this respect amongst Scotland's historical figures. The modern Scottish Socialist Party lay claim to Maclean's political legacy, particularly the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement previously a faction (or "platform") within the SSP.

Cultural References

Hamish Henderson makes reference to Maclean in the final verse of his Freedom_Come-All-Ye and his John Maclean March was specifically written for the 25th anniversary John Maclean Memorial Meeting in 1948 . Hugh Macdiarmid described Maclean as "both beautiful and red" in his 1943 poem Krassivy, Krassivy^[11] and this was the likely inspiration for the title of the 1979 play Krassivy by Glasgow writer Freddie Anderson.^[12]. John Maclean was known as "The Fighting Dominie" and this forms the chorus of Matt McGinn's song The Ballad of John Maclean. The Soviet Union (USSR) honoured Maclean with an avenue in central Leningrad^[13] - Maklin Prospekt - which ran north from the Fontanka towards the Moika. It has now, like Leningrad/St Petersburg itself, reverted to its original name, Angliisky Prospekt (English Avenue). In 1979, on the the centenary of his birth, the USSR issued a 4 kopek commemorative postage stamp depicting Maclean.^[14]

References

Bibliography

• Anderson, Tom, "John Maclean MA", Proletarian Press, Glasgow, 1930
• Aldred, Guy A., John Maclean: Martyr of the Class Struggle, Bakunin Press, Glasgow, 1932.
• Bell, Tom, John Maclean, Fighter for Freedom, Communist Party Scottish Committee, 1944.
• Clunie, James, "The Voice of Labour, Autobiography of a House Painter", Dunfermline, 1958
• Knox, William, Scottish Labour Leaders 1918-1939: A Biographical Dictionary (Ed. Dr. William Knox), Edinburgh, 1984, p.179. ISBN: 0906391407
• Maclean, John, In the Rapids of Revolution: Essays, Articles, and Letters, 1902-23 Ed. Milton, Nan, Allison and Busby, London, 1978.
• McShane, Harry, "Remembering John Maclean: Portrait of a Scottish Revolutionary", New Edinburgh Review 19, 1972, p4-10
• Milton, Nan, John Maclean, Pluto Press Ltd., 1973. ISBN 0-902818-38-4.
• Ripley, Brian J.; John McHugh. John Maclean. Lives of the Left Series. Manchester Univ Press. December 1, 1989. ISBN 0-7190-2181-2.
• Sherry, Dave. John Maclean. Bookmarks, London, 1998
• Thatcher, Ian D., "John Maclean: Soviet Versions", in History, Vol. 77, Issue 251, pp.421-429, October 1992
• Young, James D. John Maclean: Clydeside Socialist, Clydeside Press, Glasgow, 1992. ISBN 1-873586-10-8.

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

John Maclean

• The John Maclean Archive, including articles, biography and photographs
• The John Maclean Internet Archive
• The Ballad of John MacLean by Matt McGinn
• Young, James D. John Maclean, Clydeside Socialist 1879-1923
• Pitt, Robert. John Maclean and the CPGB. July 1995. Published online by What Next? Marxist journal. Retrieved May 11, 2005.
• Kenny McGuigan (2006-08-07). John MacLean, a working class hero - The story of Scotland's greatest revolutionary figure – Part One. International Marxist Tendency. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
• Kenny McGuigan (2006-08-16). John MacLean, a working class hero - The story of Scotland's greatest revolutionary figure – Part Two. International Marxist Tendency. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
• John MacLean, 1879-1923. Radical Glasgow. Glasgow Caledonian University (2006-01-09). Retrieved on 2007-12-31. Biography
• Red Clydeside:John MacLean. Glasgow Digital Library. University of Strathclyde. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
• Michael Byers (2002). Red Clydeside:John MacLean. Glasgow Digital Library. University of Strathclyde. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
• Ian R. Mitchell (November 2003). Red Clydeside:John Maclean's Pollokshaws. Glasgow Digital Library. University of Strathclyde. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
• John Maclean. "The Attitude of the B.S.P.", Letters, Forward newspaper, 1914-09-26. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.  image scan and transcript
• John Maclean. "The Attitude of the B.S.P.", Justice, 1914-09-17. 

See also

• John Maclean's Speech From the Dock
• James Connolly