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{{short description|American lawyer}}
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[[Image:Panken-by-Young.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Jacob Panken on the floor of the 1919 Socialist Party Convention, as drawn by [[Art Young]] for ''[[The Liberator (magazine)|The Liberator]].'']]
{{Infobox officeholder
⚫
'''Jacob Panken''' (1879{{spaced ndash}}1968) was an [[United States|American]] [[socialist]] politician, best remembered for his tenure as a [[New York City|New York]] municipal [[judge]] and frequent candidacies for high elected office on the ticket of the [[Socialist Party of America]].
| name = Jacob Panken
| image = Jacob Panken sitting in 1920.jpg
| caption = Panken in 1920
| office = Justice of the New York City <br />[[Family court|Domestic Relations Court]]
| appointer = [[Fiorello La Guardia]]
| term_start = December 20, 1934
| term_end = January 3, 1955
| predecessor =
| successor =
| office1 = Justice of the New York City <br />[[New York City courts|Municipal Court]], 2nd District
| term_start1 = January 3, 1918
| term_end1 = December 27, 1927
| predecessor1 = [[Gustave Hartman]]
| successor1 = [[Abraham Harawitz]]
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1879|1|13}}
| birth_place = [[Kiev]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1968|2|4|1879|1|13}}
| death_place = [[New York City, New York]], U.S.
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| nationality = Russian
| other_names =
| known_for = First [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]] judge in [[New York (state)|New York]]
| education =
| alma mater =
| employer =
| occupation = Labor leader, attorney, judge
| party = [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]] {{small|(before 1936)}}<br />[[Social Democratic Federation (United States)|Social Democratic]] {{small|(after 1936)}}
| boards =
| spouse = {{marriage|Rachel Pallay|February 20, 1910}}
| children = Hermione
| parents =
| relatives =
⚫
}}
⚫
'''Jacob Panken''' (January 13, 1879 – February 4, 1968) was an American [[socialist]] politician, best remembered for his tenure as a New York municipal [[judge]] and frequent candidacies for high elected office on the ticket of the [[Socialist Party of America]].


==Early years==
==Early years==


Jacob Panken was born January 13, 1879,<ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Jacob Panken, Ex-Judge, Dies; A Socialist and Labor Pioneer |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 5, 1968|accessdate=2009-10-27 |page=35}}</ref> in [[Kiev]], [[Ukraine]], then part of the [[Russian empire]]. He was the son of ethnic [[Jewish]] parents, Herman Panken and Feiga Berman Panken.<ref name="Graveyard">Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.), [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/palmer-parillo.html "Jacob Panken,"] The Political Graveyard.com. Retrieved October 27, 2009.</ref> His father was employed as a merchant.<ref name="WhosWho">Solon DeLeon with Irma C. Hayssen and Grace Poole, ''The American Labor Who's Who.'' New York: Hanford Press, 1925; pg. 181.</ref> The family emigrated to the United States in 1890, arriving at [[New York City]], a city in which the family settled.<ref name="WhosWho" />
Jacob Panken was born January 13, 1879,<ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Jacob Panken, Ex-Judge, Dies; A Socialist and Labor Pioneer |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 5, 1968|page=35}}</ref> in [[Kiev]], [[Ukraine]], then part of the [[Russian Empire]]. He was the son of ethnic [[Jewish]] parents, Herman Panken and Feiga Berman Panken.<ref name="Graveyard">Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.), [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/palmer-parillo.html "Jacob Panken,"] The Political Graveyard.com. Retrieved October 27, 2009.</ref> His father was employed as a merchant.<ref name="WhosWho">Solon DeLeon with Irma C. Hayssen and Grace Poole, ''The American Labor Who's Who.'' New York: Hanford Press, 1925; pg. 181.</ref> The family emigrated to the United States in 1890, arriving at New York City, a city in which the family settled.<ref name="WhosWho" />


Panken went to work at age 12, working first making purses and pocketbooks.<ref name="WhosWho" /> He later worked as a farmhand, a [[bookkeeper]], and an [[accountant]].<ref name="WhosWho" />
Panken went to work at age 12, working first making purses and pocketbooks.<ref name="WhosWho" /> He later worked as a farmhand, a [[bookkeeper]], and an [[accountant]].<ref name="WhosWho" />


Panken married the former Rachel Pallay on February 20, 1910.<ref name="Graveyard" /> His wife would eventually be a Socialist Party politician in her own right, running for the [[New York City Council|New York City Board of Aldermen]] in 1919 and for [[New York State Assembly]] in 1928 and 1934.<ref name="Graveyard" />
Panken married the former Rachel Pallay on February 20, 1910.<ref name="Graveyard" /> His wife would eventually be a Socialist Party politician in her own right, running for the [[New York City Board of Aldermen]] in 1919 and for [[New York State Assembly]] in 1928 and 1934.<ref name="Graveyard" />


==Career==
==Career==

In 1901, Panken left accountancy to go to work as an organizer for the [[International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union]].<ref name="WhosWho" /> Returning to the industry in which he first worked as a child, Panken was an organizer of the Purse and Bag Workers' Union in 1903.<ref name="WhosWho" />
In 1901, Panken left accountancy to go to work as an organizer for the [[International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union]].<ref name="WhosWho" /> Returning to the industry in which he first worked as a child, Panken was an organizer of the Purse and Bag Workers' Union in 1903.<ref name="WhosWho" />


Panken graduated from [[New York University Law School]] in 1905 and became a practicing attorney in the city.
Panken graduated from [[New York University Law School]] in 1905 and became a practicing attorney in the city.


An outspoken opponent of [[World War I]], Panken was a member of the [[People's Council for Democracy and Peace]] in 1917.<ref name="WhosWho" />
An outspoken opponent of World War I, Panken was a member of the [[People's Council for Democracy and Peace]] in 1917.<ref name="WhosWho" />


Panken attended the 1912 National Convention of the [[Socialist Party of America]] (SPA), to which he delivered the report of the "Jewish Socialist Agitation Bureau," forerunner of the [[Jewish Socialist Federation]].<ref>Panken's report to the convention is available as a downloadable pdf at: http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/parties/lfed/jewish/1912/0518-panken-convreport.pdf</ref>
Panken attended the 1912 National Convention of the [[Socialist Party of America]] (SPA), to which he delivered the report of the "Jewish Socialist Agitation Bureau," forerunner of the [[Jewish Socialist Federation]].<ref>Panken's report to the convention is available as a downloadable pdf at: http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/parties/lfed/jewish/1912/0518-panken-convreport.pdf</ref>


Panken was a public advocate of [[civil rights]] for black Americans, sitting on the advisory board of an organization established in 1919 by [[Chandler Owen]] and [[A. Phillip Randolph]], the National Association for the Promotion of Labor Unionism Among Negroes, the motto of which was "black and white workers unite."<ref>James Weinstein, ''The Decline of Socialism in America, 1912-1925.'' New York: Monthly Review Press, 1967; pg. 72.</ref>
Panken was a public advocate of [[civil rights]] for black Americans, sitting on the advisory board of an organization established in 1919 by [[Chandler Owen]] and [[A. Philip Randolph]], the National Association for the Promotion of Labor Unionism Among Negroes, the motto of which was "black and white workers unite."<ref>James Weinstein, ''The Decline of Socialism in America, 1912-1925.'' New York: Monthly Review Press, 1967; pg. 72.</ref>

⚫
[[File:Panken-by-Young.jpg|thumb|left|Jacob Panken on the floor of the 1919 Socialist Party Convention, as drawn by [[Art Young]] for ''[[The Liberator (magazine)|The Liberator]].'']]


Panken was a leading figure in the bitter [[1919 Emergency National Convention]] of the SPA, chairing the all-important Credentials Committee which acted as a filter to insure the victory of the "Regular" faction headed by Executive Secretary [[Adolph Germer]], [[New York state]] party leader [[Julius Gerber]], and National Executive Committee member [[James Oneal]]. He was also a delegate to subsequent SPA conventions held in 1920, 1924, and 1932.<ref>[http://www.marxisthistory.org/subject/usa/eam/socialistparty.html "Socialist Party of America: Organizational History,"] Early American Marxism website. Retrieved October 27, 2009.</ref>
Panken was a leading figure in the bitter [[1919 Emergency National Convention]] of the SPA, chairing the all-important Credentials Committee which acted as a filter to insure the victory of the "Regular" faction headed by Executive Secretary [[Adolph Germer]], [[New York state]] party leader [[Julius Gerber]], and National Executive Committee member [[James Oneal]]. He was also a delegate to subsequent SPA conventions held in 1920, 1924, and 1932.<ref>[http://www.marxisthistory.org/subject/usa/eam/socialistparty.html "Socialist Party of America: Organizational History,"] Early American Marxism website. Retrieved October 27, 2009.</ref>

[[File:Jacob Panken in 1920.jpg|thumb|right|Jacob Panken in 1920]]


Panken was frequent candidate for public office on the ticket of the Socialist Party. He was first a candidate for [[New York State Senate]] in the 11th District in 1908.<ref name="Graveyard" /> He ran for State Assembly from New York County's 8th District the following year.<ref name="Graveyard" /> In 1910 he ran for Justice of the [[New York Supreme Court]] for the first time, later pursuing the office again in 1929 and 1931.<ref name="Graveyard" />
Panken was frequent candidate for public office on the ticket of the Socialist Party. He was first a candidate for [[New York State Senate]] in the 11th District in 1908.<ref name="Graveyard" /> He ran for State Assembly from New York County's 8th District the following year.<ref name="Graveyard" /> In 1910 he ran for Justice of the [[New York Supreme Court]] for the first time, later pursuing the office again in 1929 and 1931.<ref name="Graveyard" />


Panken won election to a ten-year term as a municipal judge in New York in 1917, the first Socialist to be elected to New York City's Municipal Court.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E07E1DD103FE433A2575AC2A9679C946996D6CF |title=Mrs. Panken Dies in Plea for Son |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 28, 1918 |accessdate=2009-10-27 |page=15 | format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Honors Panken at Dinner; Socialists and Fellow Jurists Mark His Tenth Year on Bench |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 21, 1927|accessdate=2009-10-27 |page=21}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Big Gain for Socialists |publisher=[[Washington Post]] |date=November 8, 1917 |accessdate=2009-10-27 |page=2 }}</ref>
Panken won election to a ten-year term as a municipal judge in New York in 1917, the first Socialist to be elected to New York City's Municipal Court.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/01/29/102662622.pdf |title=Mrs. Panken Dies in Plea for Son |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 28, 1918 |accessdate=2009-10-27 |page=15 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Honors Panken at Dinner; Socialists and Fellow Jurists Mark His Tenth Year on Bench |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 21, 1927|page=21}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Big Gain for Socialists |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=November 8, 1917 |page=2 }}</ref>


During his time on the bench, Pankenremained a candidate for high offices on behalf of the Socialist Party, pursuing a seat as [[U.S. Senator from New York]] in [[New York state election, 1920|1920]] and running for [[Mayor of New York]] in [[New York City mayoral elections#1921|1921]].<ref name="Graveyard" /> Panken also ran for [[U.S. Congress]] in 1922 and for [[Governor of New York]] in [[New York state election, 1926|1926]].<ref name="Graveyard" />
During his time on the bench, Panken remained a candidate for high offices on behalf of the Socialist Party, pursuing a seat as [[U.S. Senator from New York]] in [[New York state election, 1920|1920]] and running for [[Mayor of New York]] in [[New York City mayoral elections#1921|1921]].<ref name="Graveyard" /> Panken also ran for [[U.S. Congress]] in 1922 and for [[Governor of New York]] in [[New York state election, 1926|1926]].<ref name="Graveyard" />


Running for re-election in 1927, Panken declined to accept endorsement from both the [[Republican Party (US)|Republican]]<ref>{{cite news| title=Panken Declines Aid of Republicans |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |date=1927-08-28 |accessdate=2009-10-27 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60617F83D5812738DDDA10A94D0405B878EF1D3&scp=1&sq=panken%20declines%20aid%20of%20republicans&st=cse |page=15}}</ref> and [[Communist Party USA|Communist]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Panken Rejects Communist Aid |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |date=1927-10-12 |accessdate=2009-10-27 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70717F9345414728DDDAB0994D8415B878EF1D3&scp=1&sq=panken%20rejects%20communist%20aid&st=cse |page=3}}</ref> parties and was defeated in his re-election bid.<ref name="Graveyard" /> The 1927 election was the first in the New York City boroughs of [[Manhattan]] and [[Brooklyn]] to use [[voting machines]] in all districts.<ref>{{cite news |title=Democrats Score Huge City Victory |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |date=1927-11-09 |accessdate=2009-10-27 |page=1 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00E1FF93859167A93CBA9178AD95F438285F9&scp=1&sq=%22Democrats%20Score%20Huge%20City%20Victory%22&st=cse}}</ref> The result of the election was challenged, with allegations of vote rigging, including an allegation that the lever for Panken's name was rendered inoperable in one district.<ref>{{cite news |title=Socialists to ask Vote Machine Test |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |date=1927-11-23 |page=13}}</ref>
Running for re-election in 1927, Panken declined to accept endorsement from both the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]<ref>{{cite news| title=Panken Declines Aid of Republicans |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1927-08-28 |accessdate=2009-10-27 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/08/28/archives/panken-declines-aid-of-republicans-socialist-refuses-endorsement-of.html?sq=panken%2520declines%2520aid%2520of%2520republicans&scp=1&st=cse |page=15}}</ref> and [[Communist Party USA|Communist]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Panken Rejects Communist Aid |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1927-10-12 |accessdate=2009-10-27 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/10/12/archives/panken-rejects-communist-aid-socialist-justice-says-he-is-wholly-at.html?sq=panken%2520rejects%2520communist%2520aid&scp=1&st=cse |page=3}}</ref> parties and was defeated in his re-election bid.<ref name="Graveyard" /> The 1927 election was the first in the New York City boroughs of [[Manhattan]] and [[Brooklyn]] to use [[voting machines]] in all districts.<ref>{{cite news |title=Democrats Score Huge City Victory |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1927-11-09 |accessdate=2009-10-27 |page=1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/11/09/archives/democrats-score-huge-city-victory-elect-nearly-all-candidates-in.html?sq=%2522Democrats%2520Score%2520Huge%2520City%2520Victory%2522&scp=1&st=cse}}</ref> The result of the election was challenged, with allegations of vote rigging, including an allegation that the lever for Panken's name was rendered inoperable in one district.<ref>{{cite news |title=Socialists to ask Vote Machine Test |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1927-11-23 |page=13}}</ref>


The Socialist weekly ''[[The New Leader]]'' was livid, running a banner headline that "Tammany Thugs" had stolen the election for [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate [[Abraham Harawitz]]:
The Socialist weekly ''[[The New Leader]]'' was livid, running a banner headline that "Tammany Thugs" had stolen the election for [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate [[Abraham Harawitz]]:
Line 36: Line 76:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
"The polling places of the 4th assembly district...were scenes of the most disgraceful election stealing.<br /><br />
"The polling places of the 4th assembly district...were scenes of the most disgraceful election stealing.<br /><br />
"In all cases the Tammany election officials were falnked by a collection of gangsters who aided in the intimidation of voters who were being deprived of their votes. The Socialist [poll] watchers who made protests over the procedure were brutalized. The voters were threatened, brow-beaten, and flustered. Notorious gangsters, gunmen, and pimps were on hand in full force taking orders from the Tammany leaders....<br /><br />
"In all cases the Tammany election officials were flanked by a collection of gangsters who aided in the intimidation of voters who were being deprived of their votes. The Socialist [poll] watchers who made protests over the procedure were brutalized. The voters were threatened, brow-beaten, and flustered. Notorious gangsters, gunmen, and pimps were on hand in full force taking orders from the Tammany leaders....<br /><br />
"In one polling place a watcher had a gun poked into his ribs and a second later a thug struck him from behind, laying him out; in another polling place a gangster threw tear powder into the eyes of the two Socialist watchers just as the voting machine was being opened for recording of the votes; Socialist watchers were refused the right to note the results tabulated on the machines. Many were ejected and threatened."<ref>"Tammany Thugs Steal Panken's Election," ''The New Leader,'' vol. 4, no. 21 (November 12, 1927), pg. 1.</ref></blockquote>
"In one polling place a watcher had a gun poked into his ribs and a second later a thug struck him from behind, laying him out; in another polling place a gangster threw tear powder into the eyes of the two Socialist watchers just as the voting machine was being opened for recording of the votes; Socialist watchers were refused the right to note the results tabulated on the machines. Many were ejected and threatened."<ref>"Tammany Thugs Steal Panken's Election," ''The New Leader,'' vol. 4, no. 21 (November 12, 1927), pg. 1.</ref></blockquote>


Line 47: Line 87:
In 1934, he was appointed to the [[Domestic Relations Court]] by Mayor [[Fiorello H. La Guardia|Fiorello La Guardia]] and served until his retirement in 1955.<ref name=obit/>
In 1934, he was appointed to the [[Domestic Relations Court]] by Mayor [[Fiorello H. La Guardia|Fiorello La Guardia]] and served until his retirement in 1955.<ref name=obit/>


==Death and legacy==
==Death==
Panken died in [[The Bronx]] on February 4, 1968, at the age of 89.<ref name=obit/> His papers are housed at the [[Wisconsin Historical Society]] on the campus of the [[University of Wisconsin]] in [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]].
Panken died in [[The Bronx, New York City]] on February 4, 1968, at the age of 89.<ref name=obit/>
==Legacy==
His papers are housed at the [[Wisconsin Historical Society]] on the campus of the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]].


==Footnotes==
==Footnotes==
Line 61: Line 104:
==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* Yaacov N Goldstein, ''Jewish Socialists in the United States: The Cahan Debate, 1925-1926.'' Sussex: Sussex Academic Press, 1998.
* Yaacov N Goldstein, ''Jewish Socialists in the United States: The Cahan Debate, 1925-1926.'' Sussex: Sussex Academic Press, 1998.
* Britt P. Tevis, [https://academic.oup.com/ajlh/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ajlh/njy026/5303704 "'The People's Judge': Jacob Panken, Yiddish Socialism, and American Law,"] ''American Journal of Legal History'' 59, no. 1 (March 2019), 31-70. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajlh/njy026


==External links==
==External links==
* Jacob Panken, [http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/parties/spusa/1917/0516-panken-majorityreport.pdf "The Majority Report Should Be Carried Overwhelmingly,"] letter to ''The New York Call,'' May 18, 1917, pg. 6. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
* Jacob Panken, [http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/parties/spusa/1917/0516-panken-majorityreport.pdf "The Majority Report Should Be Carried Overwhelmingly,"] letter to ''The New York Call,'' May 18, 1917, pg. 6. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
* [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=19543 "Candidate: Jacob Panken,"] Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
* [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=19543 "Candidate: Jacob Panken,"] Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
*The People's Court: Jacob Panken, Socialism, and American Law by Britt P. Tevis
* https://books.google.com/books/about/The_People_s_Court.html?id=bar1ZwEACAAJ
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{{Authority control}}


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{{Authority control|VIAF=34149979}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Panken, Jacob
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1879
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1968
| PLACE OF DEATH =
⚫
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panken, Jacob}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panken, Jacob}}
[[Category:Imperial Russian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States]]
[[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Jewish anti-Zionism]]
[[Category:Jewish American anti-Zionists]]
[[Category:Jewish socialists]]
[[Category:Politicians from New York City]]
[[Category:Politicians from New York City]]
[[Category:New York lawyers]]
[[Category:New York (state) lawyers]]
[[Category:1879 births]]
[[Category:1879 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Socialist Party of America politicians]]
[[Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Members of the Social Democratic Federation (United States)]]

Latest revision as of 08:24, 11 August 2024

Jacob Panken
Panken in 1920
Justice of the New York City
Domestic Relations Court
In office
December 20, 1934 – January 3, 1955
Appointed byFiorello La Guardia
Justice of the New York City
Municipal Court, 2nd District
In office
January 3, 1918 – December 27, 1927
Preceded byGustave Hartman
Succeeded byAbraham Harawitz
Personal details
Born(1879-01-13)January 13, 1879
Kiev, Russian Empire
DiedFebruary 4, 1968(1968-02-04) (aged 89)
New York City, New York, U.S.
NationalityRussian
Political partySocialist (before 1936)
Social Democratic (after 1936)
Spouse
Rachel Pallay
​
(m. 1910)​
ChildrenHermione
OccupationLabor leader, attorney, judge
Known forFirst Socialist judge in New York

Jacob Panken (January 13, 1879 – February 4, 1968) was an American socialist politician, best remembered for his tenure as a New York municipal judge and frequent candidacies for high elected office on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America.

Early years

[edit]

Jacob Panken was born January 13, 1879,[1] in Kiev, Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. He was the son of ethnic Jewish parents, Herman Panken and Feiga Berman Panken.[2] His father was employed as a merchant.[3] The family emigrated to the United States in 1890, arriving at New York City, a city in which the family settled.[3]

Panken went to work at age 12, working first making purses and pocketbooks.[3] He later worked as a farmhand, a bookkeeper, and an accountant.[3]

Panken married the former Rachel Pallay on February 20, 1910.[2] His wife would eventually be a Socialist Party politician in her own right, running for the New York City Board of Aldermen in 1919 and for New York State Assembly in 1928 and 1934.[2]

Career

[edit]

In 1901, Panken left accountancy to go to work as an organizer for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.[3] Returning to the industry in which he first worked as a child, Panken was an organizer of the Purse and Bag Workers' Union in 1903.[3]

Panken graduated from New York University Law School in 1905 and became a practicing attorney in the city.

An outspoken opponent of World War I, Panken was a member of the People's Council for Democracy and Peace in 1917.[3]

Panken attended the 1912 National Convention of the Socialist Party of America (SPA), to which he delivered the report of the "Jewish Socialist Agitation Bureau," forerunner of the Jewish Socialist Federation.[4]

Panken was a public advocate of civil rights for black Americans, sitting on the advisory board of an organization established in 1919 by Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph, the National Association for the Promotion of Labor Unionism Among Negroes, the motto of which was "black and white workers unite."[5]

Jacob Panken on the floor of the 1919 Socialist Party Convention, as drawn by Art Young for The Liberator.

Panken was a leading figure in the bitter 1919 Emergency National Convention of the SPA, chairing the all-important Credentials Committee which acted as a filter to insure the victory of the "Regular" faction headed by Executive Secretary Adolph Germer, New York state party leader Julius Gerber, and National Executive Committee member James Oneal. He was also a delegate to subsequent SPA conventions held in 1920, 1924, and 1932.[6]

Jacob Panken in 1920

Panken was frequent candidate for public office on the ticket of the Socialist Party. He was first a candidate for New York State Senate in the 11th District in 1908.[2] He ran for State Assembly from New York County's 8th District the following year.[2] In 1910 he ran for Justice of the New York Supreme Court for the first time, later pursuing the office again in 1929 and 1931.[2]

Panken won election to a ten-year term as a municipal judge in New York in 1917, the first Socialist to be elected to New York City's Municipal Court.[7][8][9]

During his time on the bench, Panken remained a candidate for high offices on behalf of the Socialist Party, pursuing a seat as U.S. Senator from New York in 1920 and running for Mayor of New York in 1921.[2] Panken also ran for U.S. Congress in 1922 and for Governor of New York in 1926.[2]

Running for re-election in 1927, Panken declined to accept endorsement from both the Republican[10] and Communist[11] parties and was defeated in his re-election bid.[2] The 1927 election was the first in the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn to use voting machines in all districts.[12] The result of the election was challenged, with allegations of vote rigging, including an allegation that the lever for Panken's name was rendered inoperable in one district.[13]

The Socialist weekly The New Leader was livid, running a banner headline that "Tammany Thugs" had stolen the election for Democratic candidate Abraham Harawitz:

"The polling places of the 4th assembly district...were scenes of the most disgraceful election stealing.

"In all cases the Tammany election officials were flanked by a collection of gangsters who aided in the intimidation of voters who were being deprived of their votes. The Socialist [poll] watchers who made protests over the procedure were brutalized. The voters were threatened, brow-beaten, and flustered. Notorious gangsters, gunmen, and pimps were on hand in full force taking orders from the Tammany leaders....

"In one polling place a watcher had a gun poked into his ribs and a second later a thug struck him from behind, laying him out; in another polling place a gangster threw tear powder into the eyes of the two Socialist watchers just as the voting machine was being opened for recording of the votes; Socialist watchers were refused the right to note the results tabulated on the machines. Many were ejected and threatened."[14]

Following his defeat, Panken ran again as a Socialist candidate for Congress in 1930 and for Chief Judge in 1932.[2]

During the bitter internal party fight that swept the Socialist Party during the second half of the 1930s, Panken was a committed adherent of the so-called "Old Guard faction" headed by Louis Waldman and James Oneal. In 1936 he exited the SPA along with his co-thinkers to help found the Social Democratic Federation.

Panken was one of the most outspoken anti-Zionists on the Jewish left, a key supporter of the Jewish Newsletter, published by William Zukerman, as well as of the American Council for Judaism.

In 1934, he was appointed to the Domestic Relations Court by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and served until his retirement in 1955.[1]

Death

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Panken died in The Bronx, New York City on February 4, 1968, at the age of 89.[1]

Legacy

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His papers are housed at the Wisconsin Historical Society on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c "Jacob Panken, Ex-Judge, Dies; A Socialist and Labor Pioneer". The New York Times. February 5, 1968. p. 35.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.), "Jacob Panken," The Political Graveyard.com. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Solon DeLeon with Irma C. Hayssen and Grace Poole, The American Labor Who's Who. New York: Hanford Press, 1925; pg. 181.
  4. ^ Panken's report to the convention is available as a downloadable pdf at: http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/parties/lfed/jewish/1912/0518-panken-convreport.pdf
  5. ^ James Weinstein, The Decline of Socialism in America, 1912-1925. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1967; pg. 72.
  6. ^ "Socialist Party of America: Organizational History," Early American Marxism website. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
  7. ^ "Mrs. Panken Dies in Plea for Son" (PDF). The New York Times. January 28, 1918. p. 15. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  8. ^ "Honors Panken at Dinner; Socialists and Fellow Jurists Mark His Tenth Year on Bench". The New York Times. May 21, 1927. p. 21.
  9. ^ "Big Gain for Socialists". Washington Post. November 8, 1917. p. 2.
  10. ^ "Panken Declines Aid of Republicans". The New York Times. 1927-08-28. p. 15. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  11. ^ "Panken Rejects Communist Aid". The New York Times. 1927-10-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  12. ^ "Democrats Score Huge City Victory". The New York Times. 1927-11-09. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  13. ^ "Socialists to ask Vote Machine Test". The New York Times. 1927-11-23. p. 13.
  14. ^ "Tammany Thugs Steal Panken's Election," The New Leader, vol. 4, no. 21 (November 12, 1927), pg. 1.

Works

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  • European Jewry in 1925. New York: American Ort, 1925.
  • Socialism for America. New York: Rand School Press, n.d. [c. 1933].
  • A Judge Sees Germany in Its Color. New York: Jewish Labor Committee, n.d. [early 1940s].
  • The Child Speaks: The Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency. New York: Henry Holt, 1941.

Further reading

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