The International Workingmen's Association, commonly known as the First International, was a political international which aimed to unite a variety of left-wing political groups and trade union organi
Delegates at the 1866 Geneva Congress
Depiction of the IWA's founding meeting at St Martin's Hall in London, 1864
The International Workingmen's Association in the United States of America took the form of a loose network of about 35 frequently discordant local "sections," each professing allegiance to the London
Abolitionist Wendell Phillips was an early supporter of the IWA and the Paris Commune of 1871, an event which boosted that organization in America.
Friedrich Sorge (1828-1906), a friend and correspondent of Karl Marx, was the leading figure in Section No. 1 of New York, IWA.
The defeat of the Paris Commune in May 1871 was followed by harsh reprisals against the defeated revolutionaries.
Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927) - Spiritualist, feminist, stockbroker, reform advocate, leader of Section 12, and 1872 candidate for President of the United States.