The SOCIALIST CONVENTION of 1924 was held in Cleveland on 6-7 July at the Hotel Winton. The delegates' major objective was to decide whether to endorse Sen. Robert M. LaFollette as a candidate for president of the U.S. as the CONFERENCE FOR PROGRESSIVE POLITICAL ACTION had done in Cleveland two days earlier. Although LaFollette was not a Socialist, the delegates to the Cleveland convention voted to support him by an overwhelming majority. The convention voted to adhere to the programs of the Progressives and promised to help all unions in working toward better wages and working conditions (see PROGRESSIVE PARTY). However, they also reiterated the socialist dogma that workers must unite to take economic and political power away from capitalists and abolish class rule. The convention also issued a statement against imperialism and war, and in favor of child-labor laws and the removal of legal discrimination against women.
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