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79-639: John Maclean was a prominent socialist leader in early-20th century Glasgow, a key figure in the Red Clydeside movement, and sometimes described as the "Scottish Lenin". By the time of the First World War, he had moved towards revolutionary socialism , and strongly opposed the war as imperialist. He was imprisoned in 1916, released in 1917, and named as the Scottish consul for the revolutionary Bolshevik government in early 1918. In April 1918 he

158-506: A bourgeois-democratic revolution and in contradiction with his pacifist principles. In July 1919 he visited Dublin for the first time and gave speeches. By the end of his life his attitude to Ireland had been radicalised and he gave up his opposition to physical force Irish republicanism . He described the Irish War of Independence as "The Irish fight for freedom", defended killings of " scabs and traitors to their race", and condoned

237-530: A "huge mass meeting" at St. Andrew's Hall in Glasgow, organised by the Scottish-USSR Society to mark the 25th Anniversary of his death. The Scottish Esperanto poet and novelist John Islay Francis (1924–2012) in his novel La Granda Kaldrono ("The Big Cauldron") published in 1978, describes different attitudes toward the first and the second world wars . Among the characters, John Maclean

316-672: A Scottish Workers' Republic, arguing that Lenin 's acceptance of a 'British' Communist Party was a mistake based on inadequate information. He believed that workers in Scotland could develop in a revolutionary direction more swiftly than their comrades in England and Wales, and in 1920 he attempted to found a Scottish Communist Party . This group renamed itself the Communist Labour Party and dropped Maclean's distinctive positions, so he left in disgust. He attempted to found

395-464: A crime in some respects even more horrible and revolting, more callous and cruel, than that which the Governors of Ireland perpetrated on the shattered body of James Connolly ?' Following the armistice on 11 November, he was released on 3 December 1918, returning to Glasgow to a tumultuous welcome. Eleven days later, Maclean was the official Labour Party candidate at the general election for

474-818: A decrease in wages. Following the end of the strike, Singer fired 400 workers, including Jane Rae one of the women activists, and all strike leaders and purported members of the Industrial Workers of Great Britain , among them Arthur McManus , who later went on to become the first chairman of the Communist Party of Great Britain between 1920 and 1922. Labour unrest, in particular by women and unskilled labourers, greatly increased between 1910 and 1914 in Clydeside, with four times more days on strike than between 1900 and 1910. During these four years preceding World War I , membership of those affiliated to

553-764: A full-time Marxist lecturer and organiser, educating workers in Marxist theory. He would later found the Scottish Labour College . During World War I , he was active in anti-war circles and was imprisoned in 1916 for breaching the Defense of the Realm Act , but was released in 1917 after demonstrations following the February Revolution in Russia. In January 1918 Maclean was elected to

632-466: A further indicator of their success, a mass demonstration was organised by the WPC on Sunday 8 July 1917, in which processions marched to the sound of music and the flying of banners from two sides of the city to the famous Glasgow Green in the centre of the city. As the two streams of Crusaders approached the green they merged into a huge colourful and noisy demonstration of around 14,000 participants. By

711-456: A leader ("they'll mind what he said here / in Glasgie, oor city - and the haill warld beside") and on a level with his contemporaries overseas (" Lenin 's his fiere, lad, an' Liebknecht 's his mate"). The fourth moves to a more domestic setting, with the marchers returning to their homes with Maclean's memory ("at hame wi' his Glasgie freens, their fame and their pride"). It closes with a look to

790-471: A line of strikers. The left-wing activities continued after the end of the war. The campaign for a 40-hour week, with improved conditions for the workers, occupied the exertions of organised labour. On 31 January 1919, a massive rally, organised by the trade unions , took place on George Square in the city centre of Glasgow. Although it has been claimed that as many as 90,000 people were present, contemporary sources suggest 20-25,000. Once again, although it

869-717: A new Scottish Communist Party, without success. It seems that he may have become a member of the Socialist Labour Party at this time. In November 1922, he wrote in The Vanguard that "the British empire is the greatest menace to the human race... The best interest of humanity can therefore be served by the break-up of the British empire. The Irish, the Indians and others are playing their part. Why ought not

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948-429: A pertinent example. The Labour Party has been historically dominant in Glasgow where they held the vast majority of parliamentary seats until SNP gains in 2015 from where they held all seats (with the exception of Glasgow North East between 2017-2019) until their return to Labour in 2024 . This period in Glasgow's colourful past remains a significant landmark for those on the political left in Scotland. The story of

1027-564: A positive thing for Scotland; in a speech Maclean gave at Motherwell in 1920, he claimed that the British government's foreign policy towards Ireland was intended to "starve [Irish] youths out of their native land" and Ireland's independence would decrease Irish emigration from to Scotland, thus allowing for more opportunities for Scottish workers. When the Government of the Irish Free State started executing its opponents during

1106-405: A revolutionary opportunity for the working-class, though on the face of it, it would appear that the revolutionary potential of the Clydeside working-class has been exaggerated. Firstly, except Maclean, none of the labour leaders developed a class analysis of the war, nor did they seriously consider threatening the power and authority of the state. Furthermore, it was the behaviour of those conducting

1185-744: A worldwide anti-imperialist struggle. He wrote a pamphlet called 'The Irish Tragedy: Scotland's Disgrace' which sold 20,000 copies. Following the Easter Rising he had contacts with members of the Scottish Divisional Board of the Irish Republican Brotherhood In the summer of 1907 he went on a speaking tour of Ireland, here he made friends with Jim Larkin . When the Easter Rising happened he distanced himself from it because he viewed it to be

1264-555: Is claimed that the Red Flag was raised in the centre of the crowd, this had in reality happened on Monday 27 January. The failure of the tram drivers to join the strike had led to growing hostility, and some of the strikers tried to block the tram traffic in the Square. Police attempts to clear the way led to violence and a series of baton charges. The Riot Act was read, and attacks were made on strike leader David Kirkwood as he exited

1343-429: Is for the benefit of mankind. I am not here, then, as the accused; I am here as the accuser of capitalism dripping with blood from head to foot. His speech concluded: I have taken up unconstitutional action at this time because of the abnormal circumstances and because precedent has been given by the British government. I am a socialist , and have been fighting and will fight for an absolute reconstruction of society for

1422-720: Is nothing but slow murder... Maclean died at home in Pollokshaws, Glasgow on 30 November 1923, aged 44. His reputation was such that many thousands of people lined the streets of Glasgow to see his funeral procession pass. In the intervening time Maclean's funeral has become known as the largest Glasgow ever saw. He left a legacy that has subsequently been claimed by both the Scottish Nationalist and Labour movements, making him rare in this respect amongst Scotland's historical figures. The modern Scottish Socialist Party lay claim to Maclean's political legacy, particularly

1501-422: Is referenced in several of the tracks on the album Red Clydeside by folk musicians Alistair Hulett and Dave Swarbrick , and also in the song "Rent Strike" by Thee Faction . The bosses and the judges united as one man, For Johnny was a menace to their '14 — '18 plan , They wanted men for slaughter in the fields of Armentières , John called upon the people to smash the profiteers They brought him to

1580-420: Is rotten to its foundations, and must give place to a new society. I had a lecture, the principal heading of which was "Thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not kill", and I pointed out that as a consequence of the robbery that goes on in all civilised countries today, our respective countries have had to keep armies, and that inevitably our armies must clash together. On that and on other grounds, I consider capitalism

1659-428: Is the only actual one, and has an important role. Maclean is the subject of a number of songs. Hamish Henderson makes reference to Maclean in the final verse of his " Freedom Come-All-Ye " and his " John Maclean March " was specifically written for the 25th anniversary memorial meeting. John Maclean was known as "The Fighting Dominie " and this forms the chorus of Matt McGinn 's song "The Ballad of John Maclean". He

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1738-781: The British Socialist Party organised the Scottish Federation of Tenants' Associations in 1913 to fight against rent increases and championed public housing. In 1914 the Independent Labour Party Housing Committee and the Women's Labour League formed the Glasgow Women's Housing Association . Under the leadership of Mary Barbour , Mary Laird , Helen Crawfurd , Mary Jeff , Jessie Stephen and Jessie Fergusson

1817-426: The British Socialist Party ): Well, John has been on hunger strike since July. He resisted the forcible feeding for a good while, but submitted to the inevitable. Now he is being fed by a stomach tube twice daily. He has aged very much and has the look of a man who is going through torture... Seemingly anything is law in regard to John. I hope you will make the atrocity public. We must get him out of their clutches. It

1896-797: The First World War , although the area had a long history of political radicalism going back to the Society of the Friends of the People and the " Radical War " of 1820. The 11,000 workers at the largest Singer sewing machines factory, in Clydebank, went on strike in March–April 1911, ceasing to work in solidarity with 12 female colleagues protesting against work process reorganisation. This reorganisation involved an increase in workload and

1975-655: The Fontanka towards the Moika . It has now, like Leningrad/ St Petersburg itself, reverted to its original name, Angliisky Prospekt (English Avenue). To mark the 50th anniversary of MacLean's death in 1973 a 6 ft high cairn of Scottish granite was unveiled at Pollokshaws, not far from Maclean's birthplace. Nan and her sister Jean attended the unveiling ceremony. The cairn was inscribed: "In memory of John Maclean, born in Pollokshaws on 24th August 1879, died 30th November 1923. Famous pioneer of working-class education. He forged

2054-672: The Irish Civil War Maclean wrote a letter of protest to W. T. Cosgrave expressing his "dismay". As the BSP was the main constituent organisation which merged into the newly formed Communist Party of Great Britain , Maclean was alienated from the new party despite his support for the Communist International . While declaring that he wanted to make Glasgow a Petrograd , he was adamant that Moscow should not dictate to Glasgow and declare himself in favour of

2133-642: The Liberal Party as the political formation most popular among the working class . This manifested itself at the 1922 general election , when several of the Red Clydesiders were elected to serve in the House of Commons (most of them Independent Labour Party members). They included Maxton, Wheatley, Shinwell, Kirkwood, Neil Maclean and George Buchanan . According to the Labour Party ,

2212-589: The National Library and typed them up, these were read by Hugh MacDiarmid who then championed his ideas. Her first husband wrote a biography of Maclean. Red Clydeside Red Clydeside was the era of political radicalism in Glasgow , Scotland , and areas around the city, on the banks of the River Clyde , such as Clydebank , Greenock , Dumbarton and Paisley , from the 1910s until

2291-535: The Red Clydesiders can still be politically motivating. At the 1989 Glasgow Central by-election , the Scottish National Party candidate Alex Neil called himself and the SNP member of Parliament for Govan at the time, Jim Sillars ; the "new Clydesiders". The album Red Clydeside by Alistair Hulett and Dave Swarbrick contains nine songs about the movement, particularly the anti-war protests and

2370-438: The Red Clydesiders were viewed as having a dissident left-wing character. Many of them, most notably Maxton and Wheatley, were great critics of the first and second Labour governments, elected in 1924 and 1929 respectively. The Red Clydeside era still impacts upon the politics of the area today. Ever since, Glasgow has been known for political and industrial militancy. The Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work In of 1971 offers

2449-606: The Scottish Republican Socialist Movement previously a faction (or "platform") within the SSP. According to a BBC television documentary aired in January 2015, Maclean collapsed while giving an outdoor speech and died of pneumonia. Several days before he had given his only overcoat to a destitute man from Barbados, Neill Johnstone. Vladimir Lenin described him as one of the "best-known names of

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2528-646: The Scottish Trades Union Congress rose from 129,000 in 1909 to 230,000 in 1914. To mobilise the workers of Clydeside against the First World War, the Clyde Workers' Committee (CWC) was formed, with Willie Gallacher as its head and David Kirkwood its treasurer. The CWC led the campaign against the coalition governments of H. H. Asquith and David Lloyd George and the Munitions of War Act 1915 , which forbade engineers leaving

2607-481: The City Chambers. The Sheriff of Lanarkshire, who had earlier checked that troops would be available if he needed them, called for military aid. Mainly Scottish and mainly veteran troops were sent from bases elsewhere in Scotland, and one battalion was sent up from the north of England. Claims that the troops were sent by the government, as well as claims that Scottish troops were locked in their barracks during

2686-533: The Glasgow Women's Housing Association became the driving force behind the rent strike that started in May 1915 in the industrialised area of Govan . Tenants refused to pay the latest increase in rents and staged mass demonstrations against evictions, resulting in violent confrontations. With the start of the First World War local young men left Glasgow to serve in the army overseas, and the first violent protest in

2765-520: The Govan district took place in April to resist the eviction of a soldier's family. As evictions were repeatedly attempted with support from the police, women attacked the factors and the sheriffs' men. In early summer 1915, the rent strikers were supported by mass demonstrations and by August, the rent strikers had found widespread support in Glasgow. Rent strikes spread from heavily industrialised areas of

2844-593: The Pollokshaws Progressive Union and Robert Blatchford 's Merrie England . He became convinced that the living standards of the working-classes could only be improved by social revolution and it was as a Marxist that he joined the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), and remained in the organisation as it formed the British Socialist Party . In 1906, Maclean gave a series of speeches in Pollokshaws which led to

2923-622: The Scottish link in the golden chain of world socialism". At the ceremony, Hugh MacDiarmid described Maclean as "Next to Burns, the greatest-ever Scot". In 1979, on the centenary of his birth, the USSR issued a 4 kopeck commemorative postage stamp depicting Maclean in a portrait by Peter Emilevich Bendel. Maclean's daughter was Nan Milton, who helped found the John MacLean Society and served as its secretary. She copied all of her father's writings from his own and other publications in

3002-565: The Scottish? The corruption of the English communists and the position of the English governing class, then, amply justify the establishment of a Scottish Communist Republic. In 1923, Maclean founded the Scottish Workers Republican Party , which combined communist ideologies with Scottish nationalism. Maclean's call for a Communist Republic of Scotland was based on the belief that traditional Scottish Gaelic society

3081-466: The action firmly in Glasgow, with men leaving their work to greet Maclean ("Turn oot, Jock and Jimmie, leave your crans and your muckle gantries"). In the second, the procession moves through Glasgow, down Argyle Street and London Road, bringing out both Highlanders and Irishmen ("the red and the green, lad, we'll wear side by side"). The third takes the procession to Glasgow Green , home of many past mass demonstrations. It sets Maclean in his position as

3160-680: The assassination of a magistrate , Alan Bell, saying "What self-respecting man or woman can blame the Irish for ridding the earth of such a foul skunk?". He saw the war in Ireland as strengthening the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, arguing that "Irish Sinn Féiners, who make no profession of socialism or communism, ... are doing more to help Russia and the revolution than all we professed Marxian Bolsheviks in Britain". He saw Irish independence as being

3239-425: The benefit of all. I am proud of my conduct. I have squared my conduct with my intellect, and if everyone had done so this war would not have taken place. I act square and clean for my principles. .... No matter what your accusations against me may be, no matter what reservations you keep at the back of your head, my appeal is to the working class . I appeal exclusively to them because they and they only can bring about

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3318-689: The building of municipal housing as early as 1885, when the Royal Commission on Housing and the Working Class noted the housing crisis. The Scottish Housing Council organised in 1900 and under pressure from trade unions the Housing Letting and Rating Act 1911 was passed. The act introduced letting by month, previously workers with unstable jobs had been forced to put up a year's rent payment. But as landlords increased rents protests by tenants became more frequent. John Maclean of

3397-673: The chair of the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets and a month later appointed Bolshevik consul in Scotland. He established a Consulate at 12 South Portland Street in Glasgow but was refused recognition by the British Government. On 15 April 1918, Maclean was arrested for sedition. He was refused bail and his trial fixed for 9 May in Edinburgh . He conducted his own defence in a defiant manner, refusing to plead and when asked if he objected to any of

3476-563: The city to artisanal areas and slum areas. Strikes ignited in Partick, Parkhead, Pollokshaws, Pollok, Cowcaddens, Kelvingrove, Ibrox, Govanhill, St Rollox, Townhead, Springburn, Maryhill, Fairfield, Blackfriars, and Woodside. In October 1915, 15,000 tenants were on rent strike and a demonstration led by women converged on St Enoch Square . By November, 20,000 tenants were on rent strike as violent resistance against evictions continued. Trade unions threatened factory strikes if evictions supported by

3555-631: The company they were employed in. The CWC met with government leaders, but no agreement could be reached and consequently both Gallacher and Kirkwood were arrested under the terms of the Defence of the Realm Act and jailed for their activities. Anti-war activity also took place outside the workplace and on the streets in general. The Marxist John Maclean and the Independent Labour Party (ILP) member James Maxton were both jailed for their anti-war propagandizing. Helen Crawfurd

3634-419: The constituency of Glasgow Gorbals , where he failed to unseat the sitting MP, George Barnes , a former Labour MP who had defected to support Lloyd George's coalition government. Maclean was a supporter of Home Rule for Ireland but originally opposed an independent Ireland because he was afraid that an independent Catholic Ireland would be disastrous. He later became committed to Irish independence as part of

3713-659: The courtroom in Edinburgh town, But still he did not cower, he firmly held his ground, And stoutly he defended, his every word and deed, Five years it was his sentence in the jail at Peterhead Maclean's life is celebrated in the play The Wrong Side of the Law by Ayrshire writer Norman Deeley, dealing with the political and personal struggles that Maclean faced in his fight to establish socialism in Scotland. The Soviet Union ( USSR ) honoured Maclean with an avenue in central Leningrad – Maklin Prospekt, which ran north from

3792-510: The early 1930s. Red Clydeside is a significant part of the history of the labour movement in Britain as a whole, and Scotland in particular. Some newspapers of the time used the term "Red Clydeside" to refer, largely derisively, to the groundswell of popular and political radicalism that had erupted in Scotland. A confluence of charismatic individuals, organised movements and socio-political forces led to Red Clydeside, which had its roots in working-class opposition to Britain 's participation in

3871-613: The formation of an SDF branch there, and through these, he met James D. MacDougall , who became his strongest supporter for the remainder of his life. Maclean was also an active member of the Co-operative movement and it was his prominent role that led the Renfrewshire Co-operative Societies to pressurise local school boards to provide facilities for adult classes in economics. As a revolutionary enemy of what he saw as an imperialist war, Maclean

3950-456: The future, when "the red will be worn, my lads, an' Scotland will march again / Noo great John Maclean has come hame tae the Clyde". As with much of Henderson's writing, the song is written in a broad Scots register, with flashes of humour - the workmen must rush, because Maclean will be "ower thrang tae bide", too busy to wait for them. Timothy Neat identified the use of Scots as helping tighten

4029-623: The incident, are part of the extensive mythology surrounding the event. It was only fourteen months since the Russian Revolution , and the German Revolution was still in progress in January 1919. The troops started arriving at 10 pm that evening, after the violence was over. Six tanks arrived from Dorset on Monday, 3 February. There remains a debate on the left, over whether the Red Clydeside movement constituted

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4108-493: The influx of immigrants from all over Scotland, other areas of Britain and Europe. Eleven percent of Glasgow's housing stock was vacant due to speculation and few new houses were built as landlords benefited from renting out overcrowded and increasingly dilapidated flats. As Highlanders and Irish migrants came to Glasgow, the city's population increased by 65,000 people between 1912 and 1915 while only 1,500 new housing units were built. Glaswegian activists had demanded legislation and

4187-427: The isolated heroes who have taken upon themselves the arduous role of forerunners of the world revolution." He has been described by his daughter Nan Milton and by the publication CounterFire as the "Scottish Lenin". The magazine Socialist Appeal has labeled him a "Marxist who played an outstanding role in promoting the ideas and cause of Marxism...[and] worked like a Trojan to promote the principles of Marxism amongst

4266-409: The jurors replying, "I object to the whole lot of them." The prosecution case was based on the testimony of witnesses who had attended his meetings, who quoted extracts from his speeches using notes they had written up from memory after the meeting. Maclean objected to his words being taken out of context, saying. "The main parts of my speech, in which my themes are developed are omitted. I want to expose

4345-538: The link between the singer and the audience, and described the poem as "at once traditional in form and contemporary in content". It was written by Henderson to be performed to a traditional tune, an adaptation of "Bonny Glenshee", later adapted further as the tune for Scotland the Brave . Henderson wrote the song for a memorial meeting commemorating MacLean in November 1948, the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death. It

4424-474: The most infamous, bloody and evil system that mankind has ever witnessed. My language is regarded as extravagant language, but the events of the past four years have proved my contention. He went on to say: I wish no harm to any human being, but I, as one man, am going to exercise my freedom of speech . No human being on the face of the earth, no government is going to take from me my right to speak, my right to protest against wrong, my right to do everything that

4503-604: The organisation initially attracted working-class women in Govan to activism, and with open air meetings throughout Glasgow, Edinburgh and within Lowland Scotland they began to extend their reach. By 1917, street meetings were regularly being held all around the districts of Glasgow and beyond, including Partick , Maryhill , Bridgeton , Parkhead , Govan, Govanhill , Whiteinch , Shettleston , Springburn , Possilpark , Bellahouston , Rutherglen , Paisley , Overnewton Barrhead , Cambuslang , Blantyre , Alloa , Cowdenbeath , Drongan , Drumpark, Douglas Water and Lanark . As

4582-456: The police continued and following demonstrations on 17 November, legal action against rent strikers was halted. State Secretary of Scotland Thomas McKinnon Wood asked the Cabinet to freeze all rents at pre-war levels and in December, the Rents and Mortgage Interest Restriction Act 1915 received royal assent. In March 2018, to mark International Women's Day, a bronze sculpture of Barbour was unveiled in Govan, Glasgow portraying Barbour leading

4661-453: The protesters' side. The trade union leaders, who had organised the meeting, were arrested. Most were acquitted, although both Gallacher and Manny Shinwell were put in jail for their activities that day, Shinwell also being charged with an inflammatory speech the week before in James Watt Street in the city's docks, in an episode that later erupted into a race riot. The aura of Red Clydeside grew as delegations of organised labour replaced

4740-485: The time that the Peace Crusade disbanded it had become a UK-wide organisation. At the turn of the twentieth century the Clydeside area in Glasgow experienced rapid industrial and population growth during which time Glasgow became Scotland's largest city, Its population grew from almost 200,000 in 1851 to over 1,000,000 in 1921. Despite this exponential growth, housing remained a huge problem for its inhabitants as few houses were added to Glasgow's housing stock to accommodate

4819-401: The time when the whole world will be in one brotherhood, on a sound economic foundation. That, and that alone, can be the means of bringing about a re-organisation of society. That can only be obtained when the people of the world get the world, and retain the world. He was sentenced to five years' penal servitude, and imprisoned in Peterhead prison near Aberdeen . However, a militant campaign

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4898-417: The trickery of the British government and their police and their lawyers." This speech from the dock has passed into folklore for the Scottish left . Lasting for some 75 minutes, Maclean's speech began : It has been said that they cannot fathom my motive. For the full period of my active life I have been a teacher of economics to the working classes, and my contention has always been that capitalism

4977-415: The war, as he felt it was a war of imperialism which divided workers from one another, as he explained in his letter to Forward ( transcript ). His politics made him well known to the authorities of the day, and on 27 October 1915 he was arrested under the Defence of the Realm Act and Govan School Board sacked him from his teaching post at Lorne Street Primary School . As a consequence, he became

5056-411: The war, not the war itself that provoked opposition within the labour movement. The Independent Labour Party 's May Day Manifesto of 1918 makes this very clear in calling for A Living Wage for all and Justice for our Soldiers and their Dependants . Moreover, the massive demand for men to fight in the war meant that few Glaswegian families escaped personal loss of some kind. To undermine the war effort

5135-498: The working class of Scotland" The National describes him as "a man who most knowledgeable Scots would consider a legend, indeed an almost mythical Celtic giant of socialism". David Sherry, author of the book 'John Maclean: Red Clydesider' considers him an "outstanding revolutionary leader". In his poem "John Maclean (1879–1923)", written in 1934 but only published later in the 1956 edition of Stony Limits and Other Poems , Hugh MacDiarmid railed that "of all Maclean's foes not one

5214-445: Was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary socialist of the Red Clydeside era. He was notable for his outspoken opposition to World War I , which caused his arrest under the Defence of the Realm Act and loss of his teaching post, after which he became a full-time Marxist lecturer and organiser. In April 1918 he was arrested for sedition , and his 75-minute speech from the dock became a celebrated text for Scottish left-wingers. He

5293-512: Was a mass public event, perhaps the largest ever to be held in Glasgow, with perhaps ten thousand people following the funeral procession. The song covers four verses, with the last line of each verse repeated with emphasis in place of a chorus. Henderson's notes indicate the first verse should then be repeated, starting softly and working up to a crescendo. The first verse calls to the listener in different areas of Scotland ("Hey, Mac, did ye see him, as ye cam' doon by Gorgie ...") - before setting

5372-479: Was a potter who hailed from Bo'ness and his mother Ann (1846–1914) came from Corpach . His parents spoke Gaelic and he was raised in a Calvinist household, Maclean trained as a schoolteacher under the auspices of the Free Church and then attended part-time classes at the University of Glasgow , graduating with a Master of Arts degree in 1904. (Maclean often used the letters M.A. after his name when being published). Maclean first came to politics through

5451-447: Was arrested for sedition, convicted and imprisoned, then released again after the Armistice following a hunger strike. After the war, he split from the Communist Party of Great Britain to found the Scottish Communist Party , then left this to form the Scottish Workers Republican Party , calling for an independent Communist Scotland. In 1923, he died aged 44, with his health broken after the long-term effects of imprisonment. His funeral

5530-415: Was fiercely opposed to the stance adopted by the leadership of the BSP around H. M. Hyndman . However he was not to be a part of the new leadership which replaced Hyndman in 1916. By the time of World War I , his socialism was of a revolutionary nature, although he worked with others on the Clyde Workers' Committee who were more reformist in outlook, such as his friend James Maxton . He heavily opposed

5609-462: Was his peer" and described Maclean as "both beautiful and red" in his 1943 poem "Krassivy, Krassivy" This was the inspiration for the title of Krassivy , a 1979 play by Glasgow writer Freddie Anderson . Maclean was eulogised as "the eagle o' the age" and placed in the Scottish pantheon alongside Thomas Muir and William Wallace by Sydney Goodsir Smith in his "Ballant O John Maclean". In 1948, MacDiarmid and Smith (among others) gave readings at

5688-637: Was launched for his release: The call 'Release John Maclean was never silent. Every week the socialist papers kept up the barrage and reminded their readers that in Germany Karl Liebknecht was already free, while in 'democratic' Britain John Maclean was lying in a prison cell being forcibly fed twice a day by an India rubber tube forced down his gullet or up his nose. 'Is the Scottish Office' asked Forward. 'to be stained with

5767-553: Was not in harmony with the Communist Party of Great Britain , even though it had absorbed the British Socialist Party , to which he had belonged. In captivity, Maclean had been on hunger strike, and prolonged force-feeding had permanently affected his health. He collapsed during a speech and died of pneumonia, aged forty-four. Maclean was born in Pollokshaws , then on the outskirts of Glasgow , Scotland . His father Daniel ( Scottish Gaelic : Dòmhnall MacIllEathain ; 1843–1888)

5846-741: Was opposed to conscription and, although there were anti-war and anti-conscription campaigns in organisations such as the WIL being organised and run by middle-class women, few working-class women were involved in Scotland. Frustration on her part on their lack of representation, Helen Crawfurd organised a grassroots meeting called 'The Great Women's Peace Conference' involving socialist-minded women in June 1916. From this meeting, and alongside her fellow Rent Striker Agnes Dollan , The Women's Peace Crusade (WPC) arose in November 1916 in Govan , Glasgow . As intended,

5925-572: Was recorded by Alan Lomax. It was one of the few overtly political pieces performed at the event. A second recording of Henderson performing the song in London, March 1951, also survives in the Lomax collection. Later recordings include those by The Clutha (1971), Dick Gaughan (1972), Tonight at Noon (1988), North Sea Gas (2000), and Danny Glover (2008). John Maclean (Scottish socialist) John Maclean (24 August 1879 – 30 November 1923)

6004-488: Was sentenced to five years' penal servitude, but was released after the November armistice . Maclean believed that Scottish workers were especially fitted to lead the revolution, and talked of " Celtic communism ", inspired by clan spirit. But his launch of a Scottish Workers Republican Party and a Scottish Communist Party were largely unsuccessful. Although he had been appointed Bolshevik representative in Scotland, he

6083-496: Was structured along the lines of "community". He argued that "the communism of the clans must be re-established on a modern basis" and raised the slogan "back to community and forward to communism". His stay in Peterhead Prison in 1918 caused a considerable deterioration in his health, being force fed through hunger strikes. Milton quotes a letter that Agnes, his wife, wrote to Edwin C. Fairchild (a leading member of

6162-557: Was sung by William Noble to end the event, following poems by Hugh MacDiarmid , Sydney Goodsir Smith , and Sorley MacLean , and was warmly received, "passing in one singing into the musical consciousness of the nation. Morris Blythman , the organiser, described Noble's performance as "the first swallow of the folk revival ". Henderson later performed it as part of the Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh in August 1951, which

6241-505: Was to risk alienating the working-class, which many labour leaders were unwilling to do-–apart from Maxton, Gallacher and Maclean. William Gallacher , who would later become a Communist MP claimed that, whilst the leaders of the rally were not seeking revolution, in hindsight they should have been. He claimed that they should have marched to the Maryhill Barracks and tried to persuade the troops stationed there to come out on

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