International Workingmen's Association

Marx addresses the first meeting of the IWMA.

Leaflet advertising a meeting of the IWMA in London.

Karl Marx, c. 1869.

Mikhail Bakunin, 1860s.

The International Workingmen's Association (IWMA), known retroactively as the First International, was a global association of working class, leftist and nationalist organizations. It was founded in 1864 and was active until 1876, when it fell apart due to factional infighting between anarchists and Marxists. The International was highly influential and saw numerous successors, most notably the Second International and later the Third or Communist International. Numerous other spiritual successors have existed and continue to the present day.

See also

• "The Internationale", an anthem written about the IWMA

External links

• History of the International Workingmen's Association, at Marxists.org