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The Popular Front in America had a unique and distinct characteristics,which points to the fact that the most radical moment in American history also produced a quite “American” type of radical-liberal alliance. Unlike the ones in other countries, the Popular Front in America was a loose alliance of labor, left, and the New Deal liberals rather than formal collaborations among political parties/ labor organizations. Three different but inter-related factors contributed to the establishment of the Popular Front: The industrial unionism exemplified in the CIO,the CPUSA which just changed its strategy to intermingle with the American culture and penetrated into the movements of the day, and finally the New Deal Democratic Party, the focal point of which was always Franklin D. Roosevelt. The alliance of the labor-left and the New Deal was based on the mutual benefits and gains: The CIO was desperate for the help of the federal government and the communist activists in order to survive under the harsh circumstances; the Communists wanted to end its tiring long-term isolation from American politics and the public; and the New Dealers attempted to hold power as against the challenges of both the left and the right which threatened its stance. While all three had different purposes and political perspectives, at least they had in common in fighting against fascism and in expanding the rights of labor and the people. The labor and the left strategically chose the New Deal coalition as its form of alliance even though the leaders of the CIO and the CPUSA disagreed with the New Dealers ideologically and politically. Despite their differences in political/ideological perspectives and long term purposes, they endured other's differences as they judged the collaboration was necessary stepping stones gaining the lasting success. The Popular Front and the New Deal coalition overlapped and shared certain goals but their implicit collaboration was conditional in the 1930s. When the New Deal ground to a halt, a serious red scare seemed to be in the making. The House Un-American Activities Committee appeared, and soon anticommunists legislation was being enacted. What gave the cause of anticommunism its coherence was its hostility to the Popular Front nexus. Anticommunist suspicions had come to rest on the federal government itself, and the red scare tactics were being used against the New Deal at its most vulnerable point. The CIO unions, the CPUSA, and those liberal Democrats in favor of sustaining the Popular Front alignment were case as the un-American enemies of the United States. In its response, the CIO and the CPUSA formed the Political Action Committee (PAC) in the 1944 election and worked for the re-election of Roosevelt and the New Dealers. The strategy of the PAC was successful, but it became a target of the conservative criticism. And at this time, the CIO and the CPUSA increasingly came to rely on the good will of the New Dealers. When the CIO and the New Dealers decided not to maintain the expensive Popular Front alliance and expelled the communists from the alliance, not only communists suffered, but also the Causes that the Popular Front cherished and worked to nourish in American environment. And the tragic defeat of the Progressive Party in the election of 1948 epitomized the demise of the Popular Front in America.
