Credit: The Historical Society of Berks County Museum and Library
Blacklisted from working as a mechanic because of his outspoken political views, James Maurer joined the Socialist Party in 1901 and soon built a strong political organization in Reading. The first Socialist elected to the Pennsylvania legislature (1911- 19), Maurer also led the influential Pennsylvania Federation of Labor. An honest, highly principled, and effective reformer, Maurer was the public face of Socialism in the state of Pennsylvania for more than three decades.
