Historical Organization
International Working Men’s Association
International Working Men’s Association
Details
Organization Timeline
The International Working Men’s Association is founded
📅 28 September 1864Workers and trade-unionists from several countries founded the First International at St Martin’s Hall. Marx drafted its inaugural address and rules, but the association’s political force came from...
International Working Men’s Association founded in London
📅 28 September 1864The First International linked labor organizations across borders and built an institution for worker solidarity. Its debates exposed tensions around representation, political strategy and women’s...
The International adopts a resolution supporting Poland
📅 29 November 1864The General Council backed Polish national independence, linking resistance to imperial domination with international worker solidarity. Marx helped draft the resolution, but the debate also reflected...
Marx presents Value, Price and Profit to the First International
📅 26 June 1865Marx argued to workers that wages and profits arose from antagonistic social relations, challenging the view that higher wages alone could end exploitation. The lecture was published only after his...
The First International meets in Geneva
📅 3 September 1866Delegates debated trade unions, working hours, education, and political organization. Marx prepared instructions for the congress, but the policy agenda emerged from national labor movements and...
Engels completes his move to London
📅 8 August 1869After retiring from the Manchester firm, Engels moved to London and worked closely with Marx and the International. He continued writing, organizing, and providing financial support, while pursuing...
Marx reassesses the Irish struggle as a condition of workers’ emancipation
📅 29 November 1869Marx told Engels that the English working class could not emancipate itself while supporting Ireland’s subordination. This marked a strategic shift from expecting English workers to lead change first,...
Marx drafts an International circular on Ireland
📅 1 January 1870The General Council circulated Marx’s analysis of Ireland’s national struggle and the English working class. The intervention placed anti-colonial solidarity within a class strategy, while debate...
Marx writes on Ireland and the English working class
📅 9 April 1870Marx argued that English workers’ emancipation required opposing Ireland’s subordination, revising his earlier expectation that English workers would lead change on their own. The analysis connected...
Marx issues the First Address on the Franco-Prussian War
📅 23 July 1870The International’s General Council warned workers against identifying with either ruling class and called for solidarity across borders. The statement opposed chauvinism and anticipated the war’s...
Marx publishes The Civil War in France
📅 30 May 1871Written for the International, the address defended the Commune and examined its institutions, including elected and recallable representatives. Marx’s account made the Commune a major reference point...
The International holds its London Conference
📅 17 September 1871Delegates addressed political action, organization, and the effects of the Paris Commune. Marx played a major role in the proceedings, but the conference also exposed tensions between central...
The Hague Congress debates the future of the First International
📅 2 September 1872Delegates debated political action, organization, and the conflict between Marx’s current and anarchist currents associated with Bakunin. The congress relocated the General Council to New York; the...