Louis B. Boudin

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Louis B. Boudin, in a photo taken at the time of his publication of his first book in 1907

Louis B. Boudin (December 15, 1874 – May 29, 1952) was a Russian-born American Marxist theoretician, writer, politician, and lawyer. He is best remembered as the author of a two volume history of the Supreme Court's influence on American government, first published in 1932.

Early life

He was born Louis Boudianoff (Leib Budiansky) in

imperial Russia on February 15, 1874. He was born into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of a shirt manufacturer.[1]

The family emigrated to America in June 1891 and settled in

Master's Degree from New York University and being admitted to the New York State Bar Association in 1898.[2]

Political career

At first, Boudin was a member of the Socialist Labor Party of America. He was also a member of the governing National Executive Board of the party's trade union affiliate, the Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance from 1898 to 1899.[1] Boudin left the Socialist Labor Party during the party fight of 1899, casting his lot with the dissident faction headed by Morris Hillquit and Henry Slobodin. This dissident organization eventually became one of the main pillars of the new Socialist Party of America, established in the summer of 1901.

Boudin was elected a delegate of the Socialist Party of America to the International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart in 1907 and the 1910 Copenhagen Congress of the Second International.[1]

Boudin was frequently a candidate for public office on the Socialist Party ticket. He ran for Judge of the

1916. He also ran for Justice of the New York Supreme Court (2nd District) in 1910, 1912, and 1919.[3]

Writing career

Boudin wrote his first political articles on

political activists.[2]

Together with

Socialist Publication Society owing to "differences concerning the policy of the magazine."[5]

Later life

After the formation of the

The New Masses, in the second half of the 1930s.[2]

Boudin repudiated communism by 1940, but remained a staunch defender of the civil liberties of Communist Party members.[2]

Throughout the 1930s and the 1940s, Boudin was a frequent contributor of book reviews to scholarly journals such as the

The American Journal of Sociology, and The Journal of Politics.[6]

In addition to working as a lawyer, winning several cases related to the rights of workers to organize trade unions,[2] Boudin also wrote the two volume, Government by Judiciary, revisiting a topic with which he had dealt in a previous shorter book. In it, although it was never much read by the radical movement of his day, Boudin argued that the democratic rights of the people had been usurped by the judicial branch of government. While not influential with political activists of the period, Boudin's book remained in use among law students for decades, according to historian Paul Buhle.[2]

Death and legacy

Boudin died after a long illness, in his apartment in Manhattan, New York City, May 29, 1952.[7]

His papers reside at Columbia University in New York City and include the manuscript of an unpublished book, Order Out of Chaos, a study of economic crises.

Boudin's family has continued to be prominent on the political left. His nephew

William Sloan Coffin. Leonard's children are federal judge Michael Boudin and Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin. Kathy's son Chesa Boudin was the district attorney of the city of San Francisco
until a voter recall removed him from office in June 2022.

Works

Books

Articles

  • "Stare Decisis, State Constitutions, and Impairing the Obligation of Contracts by Judicial Decisions." New York University Law Quarterly Review, vol. 11, nos. 1–2 (September–December 1933).
  • "Has the Writ of Habeas Corpus Been Abolished in New York?" Columbia Law Review, vol. 35, no. 6 (June 1935), pp. 850–872. In JSTOR
  • "The Supreme Court and Civil Rights," Science & Society, vol. 1, no. 3 (Spring 1937), pp. 273–309. In JSTOR
  • "The Sherman Act and Labor Disputes: Part I," Columbia Law Review, vol. 39, no. 8 (Dec. 1939), pp. 1283–1337. In JSTOR
  • "The Sherman Act and Labor Disputes: Part II," Columbia Law Review, vol. 40, no. 1 (Jan. 1940), pp. 14–51. In JSTOR
  • "State Poll Taxes and the Federal Constitution," Virginia Law Review, vol. 28, no. 1 (Nov. 1941), pp. 1–25. In JSTOR
  • "Wanted: An Integrated System of Labor Law," Journal of Politics, vol. 4, no. 1 (Feb. 1942), pp. 20–46. In JSTOR
  • "Organized Labor and the Clayton Act: Part I," Virginia Law Review, vol. 29, no. 3 (Dec. 1942), pp. 272–315. In JSTOR
  • "Organized Labor and the Clayton Act: Part II," Virginia Law Review, vol. 29, no. 4 (Jan. 1943), pp. 395–439. In JSTOR
  • "Congressional and Agency Investigations: Their Uses and Abuses," Virginia Law Review, vol. 35, no. 2 (Feb. 1949), pp. 143–213. In JSTOR
  • "'Seditious Doctrines' and the 'Clear and Present Danger' Rule: Part I," Virginia Law Review, vol. 38, no. 2 (Feb. 1952), pp. 143–186. In JSTOR
  • "'Seditious Doctrines' and the 'Clear and Present Danger' Rule: Part II," Virginia Law Review, vol. 38, no. 3 (April 1952), pp. 315–356. In JSTOR

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Solon DeLeon with Irma C. Hayssen and Grace Poole (eds.), The American Labor Who's Who. New York: Hanford Press, 1925; pg. 23.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Paul Buhle, "Louis B. Boudin" in Mari Jo Buhle, Paul Buhle, and Dan Georgakas (eds.), Encyclopedia of the American Left. New York: Garland Publishing Co., 1990; pp. 102–103.
  3. ^ Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.) "Louis B. Boudin" at PoliticalGraveyard.com
  4. ^ Louis B. Boudin, The Theoretical System of Karl Marx in the Light of Recent Criticism. [1907] Chicago: Charles H. Kerr & Co., 1915.
  5. ^ The Class Struggle, vol. 2, no. 4 (September–October 1918), pg. 492.
  6. ^ A search of OCLC WorldCat for Louis B. Boudin as "author" generates an extensive list.
  7. ^ "Louis B. Boudin," New York Daily News, May 31, 1952

External links

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