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chapter two The American Component The Hollywood communists accepted and, in fact, sought Soviet direc- tion, as has been firmly established. “From 1919 until 1943, the Commu- nist International, headquartered in Moscow, supervised the activities of Communist Parties throughout the world.”1 Who, though, were the American-born members of the Hollywood communist bloc? In order to answer this question, we must first reflect on the nature and organiza- tional structure of the Communist Party of the United States of America. The CPUSA could trace its origins to 1919, when American radicals founded two competing communist parties. The two groups argued often and vigorously, but when the Comintern intervened, the two competing factions reluctantly united into one uneasy communist alliance in 1921. For the remainder of the 1920s the CPUSA played a minor role in Amer- ica, and actually spent much time struggling against itself, as the Comin- tern representatives sought to maintain order, often passing difficult problems (and people) back to Moscow and asking for rulings.2 In fact, early party leaders Jay Lovestone and Benjamin Gitlow were expelled from the party on Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s direct orders for defying Comintern instructions. Gradually the party developed an organizational ladder. The CPUSA adopted a top-down structure, with a shadowy Comintern agent leading the party, while a national organizational board held titular control of national internal affairs. The organizational board established state CPUSA branches beneath the national directorate, and local organizations where numbers and influence were deemed important. In all respects the party was an authoritarian body, with each subgroup subservient to the party faction directly above in the hierarchy.