When workers took control of the city of St Louis in July 1877, it was historically significant for a number of reasons.

The stunning action constituted the first general strike in US history. It was the only time a major US city was ruled by a communist party. And it single-handedly dispelled the myth that workers in the United States are inherently allergic to class politics or contemptuous of radical “Old War” doctrines. In fact, the general strike and St Louis Commune of 1877 were launched by class-conscious workers directly influenced by the socialist movements of their European brethren.

St Louis’s ruling class saw perfectly clearly the class nature of the strike and its relationship to European socialism — in particular, the Paris Commune of 1871 and the First International, led by Karl Marx. On July 27, 1877, the Missouri Republican screamed, “The Internationalists have taken control of the strike, same as the communists who took control of Paris.”