International Workingmen's Association

International Workingmen's Association
	Logo first used by the Spanish IWA.
Abbreviation	IWA
Predecessor	International Association
Successor	Second International; (not legal successor), International Working People's Association (claimed)
Formation	28 September 1864
Founders	George Odger, Henri Tolain, Edward Spencer Beesly
Dissolved	July 1876
Legal status	Defunct
Purpose	Defense of the working class; Class struggle against capitalism; Establishment of a socialist society;
Headquarters	St James's Hall, Regent Street, West End
Location	London (1864–1873); New York City (1873–1876);
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	5–8 million
Key people	Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Mikhail Bakunin, Louis Auguste Blanqui, Giuseppe Garibaldi
Main organ	Congress of the First International

The International Workingmen's Association (IWA; 1864–1876), often called the First International, was a political international which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, social democratic, communist^[2] and anarchist groups and trade unions that were based on the working class and class struggle. It was founded in 1864 in a workmen's meeting held in St. Martin's Hall, London. Its first congress was held in 1866 in Geneva.

In Europe, a period of harsh reaction followed the widespread Revolutions of 1848. The next major phase of revolutionary activity began almost twenty years later with the founding of the IWA in 1864. At its peak, the IWA reported having 8 million members^[3] while police reported 5 million.^[4] In 1872, it split in two over conflicts between statist and anarchist factions and dissolved in 1876. The Second International was founded in 1889.

^ Quint, Howard H. The Forging of American Socialism: Origins of the Modern Movement. 2nd ed. The American Heritage Series. (Indianapolis, New York & Kansas City: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1964), 13, https://archive.org/details/forgingofamerica0000quin.
^ "Dictionary of politics: selected American and foreign political and legal terms". Walter John Raymond. p. 85. Brunswick Publishing Corp. 1992. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
^ Testut, Oscar (May 29, 1871). "Association International des Travailleurs". Journal Officiel (in French): 1152.
^ Payne, Robert (1968). "Marx: A Biography". Simon and Schuster: New York. p. 372.

[1] Quint, Howard H. The Forging of American Socialism: Origins of the Modern Movement. 2nd ed. The American Heritage Series. (Indianapolis, New York & Kansas City: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1964), 13, https://archive.org/details/forgingofamerica0000quin.

[2] "Dictionary of politics: selected American and foreign political and legal terms". Walter John Raymond. p. 85. Brunswick Publishing Corp. 1992. Retrieved January 27, 2010.

[3] Testut, Oscar (May 29, 1871). "Association International des Travailleurs". Journal Officiel (in French): 1152.

[4] Payne, Robert (1968). "Marx: A Biography". Simon and Schuster: New York. p. 372.

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