The Communist Party USA has held 32 official national conventions, including conventions held while the party was known as the Workers Party of America (1921âÂÂ1924), the Workers (Communist) Party of America (1925âÂÂ1928), and the Communist Political Association (1943âÂÂ1946). There were also half a dozen congresses held by the party's organizational predecessors, including the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party (1919), the competing Communist Labor Party (1919âÂÂ1921) and Communist Party of America (1919âÂÂ1921), and the merged (but "underground") Communist Party of America (1921âÂÂ1923).
In early 1919, the Socialist Party of America (SPA) was splitting between its socialist right and its communist left, known as the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party. In May 1919, the Boston SPA, Cleveland SPA, and Left Wing Section of New York City SPA adopted a resolution calling for a national left-wing conference on June 21, 1919. Admittance as "left-wing" was defined as endorsement of the program of the Left Wing Section of NYC SPA.
At the conference, the delegates divided into two groups: The majority, formed around the periodical The Revolutionary Age, wanted to take over SPA at the SPA's September convention in Chicago. The minority wished to exit the SPA and create a Communist Party immediately. The minority withdrew and formed the National Organization Committee for a Communist Party. This group was mainly made up of the suspended language federations and the Socialist Party of Michigan.
The Revolutionary Age majority formed the National Council of the Left Wing Section and began organizing for a takeover of the SPA's convention. However, by late August, the majority of this group decided to abandon this plan and merge into the National Organization Committee to create a new party at a convention in Chicago. A minority, led by Ben Gitlow and John Reed, split with the majority and attempted to infiltrate the Socialist Party convention alone.