JAY MARTIN
John Dewey and the Trial of Leon Trotsky
J
OHN DEWEY'S INVOLVEMENT in the
1937
trial of Leon Trotsky was
complex, revelatory of John Dewey, and also illuminating of the
troubled relations between American liberals and the Soviet state in
the
1930S.
An account of the trial conveys in the most vivid way the
character of John Dewey-his personality, his commitments, his ideals,
and the way he acted upon them. But, equally important, this trial forms
a crucial episode in the history of modern American liberalism, particu–
larly concerning the relation of liberals and progressives to the Russian
Revolution. Finally, the relation between Dewey's intellectual values and
his commitment to social action-his understanding and advocacy of
society-based democracy-emerged powerfully in this incident.
The most dramatic year in John Dewey's life was certainly
1937.
But the events that led up to his singular experiences in this year
started, of course, some years earlier.
The death of Lenin in
1924
led to a struggle for supremacy in the
Soviet Union between Josef Stalin and Leon Trotsky. Stalin's shaky vic–
tory in this contest led to the exile of Trotsky-first to the Chinese fron–
tier, then to Turkey, next to France, and finally to Norway-each move
an attempt by Trotsky to find some spot safe from Stalin's increasing
paranoia.
In Mexico, throughout the thirties, President Cardenas had followed
the generous practice of granting admission to political refugees, and
Trotsky looked to Mexico as a possible political haven. Besides, in Mex–
ico the Trotskyist wing of the Party was fairly strong, and Trotsky
received an invitation from Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, great
painters but naive Trotskyists, to stay at their house in Coyoacan, at the
edge of Mexico City. He fled there.
Meanwhile, the Moscow tria ls had begun. Stalin was consolidating
his power, and anyone even tangentially associated with Trotsky became
an enemy of the people. Zinoviev and Piatakov and their followers were
rounded up and accused of plotting against Stalin; a more important fig–
ure, Bukharin, was next. Stalin's Minister of Justice, Andrei Vyshinsky,
conducted the trials. "Confessions" were followed rapidly by executions.
