Series II: Early Political and Communist Party Activities, 1931-1947, inclusive

This series contains mostly articles (written by Johnson and others) and notes and speeches. Johnson's political activities before he joined the Communist Party USA (the years 1931-36) - his involvement with the National Miners Union in Harlan, Kentucky and with the Unemployed Leagues (particularly in Ohio) - are not well documented by contemporary material. There are many references, mostly brief, in newsclippings and biographical materials of later years which refer back to these experiences. They were important turning points in Johnson's political and personal life. The notebook located in Series V folder 19 helps to fill in some of the gaps.

Johnson stayed in Ohio and continued working with the unemployed (in the Workers Alliance) after joining the Communist Party USA in 1936. Speeches, mostly delivered by Johnson on a weekly radio broadcast, are the most abundant form of material remaining from Johnson's years as Ohio Communist Party leader (1936-1947). Many relate to the political programs of the Communist Party as expressed in Johnson's candidatures for state Governor, Cleveland Board of Education, and Mayor of Cleveland. Other speeches document Johnson's presidency of the Ohio Workers Alliance, the Communist Party support of the war against Hitler, and, after the war, of the Soviet Union.