J. Stitt Wilson: Socialist Christian Mayor of Berkeley

Jackson Stitt Wilson (1868-1942) was one of Americas most prominent socialist politicians. Bartons biography brings his extraordinary career vividly to life and illuminates the vitality and creativity of the socialist movement from the Gilded Age to the New Deal. Ordained as a Methodist minister in Chicago during the great depression of 1893-1897 Wilson resigned to help start a Christian socialist movement which would be joined by hundreds of American ministers. He was a noted public speaker drawing enthusiastic audiences of thousands in the U.S. Canada and Great Britain where he worked with the newly formed Labour Party. After Wilson and his family moved to Berkeley California he ran for Governor and then was elected mayor but declined to run for re-election after tragedy struck his family. He was a strong supporter of womens rights and his two daughters both became socialists and stars of stage and screen during the silent movie era. During World War I Wilson again ran for mayor but was narrowly defeated after false accusations from a Berkeley-based citizen secret service organization sponsored by the U.S. Army. The Great Depression of the 1930s brought renewed attention to Wilsons Christian socialism. He worked to revive the Socialist Party then worked for his friend Upton Sinclairs EPIC campaign for governor in 1934. In the last years of his life he warned against the rise of fascism and supported the New Deal as the only credible alternative.Stephen Bartons fascinating biography of Jackson Stitt Wilson resurrects the life and times of this remarkable but almost-forgotten public figure. Wilson was part of a vibrant Christian socialist movement who put its principles into practice after he was elected mayor of Berkeley California in 1911 a period when more than 1200 Socialists won public offices across the country. Many of the then-radical ideas Wilson crusaded for-womens suffrage a minimum wage an end to child labor old age insurance and the right of workers to form unions-are things we now take for granted. Bartons well-written and comprehensive biography reminds us that todays progressives-in California and elsewhere-stand on Wilsons shoulders.- Peter Dreier E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics Occidental College and author of The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame and We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism American StyleA carefully researched account of the fascinating life and times of Berkeleys only Socialist Party mayor Bartons book also includes important insights into the history of the early twentieth century socialist movement in the United States and Britain.- Charles Wollenberg former Professor of History and Chair of Social Sciences Berkeley City College and author of Berkeley A City in HistoryBartons book is a masterfully researched and carefully written biography of Wilson. This book not only brings to life again an important yet understudied Berkeley citizen of the early twentieth century it can also help dispel some popular misconceptions about socialism religion and their mutual role in fostering social change.- Douglas Firth Anderson Professor Emeritus of History Northwestern College and co-author of Pilgrim Progression: The Protestant Experience in California