The Red Corner chronicles the events of the teens and 1920s that left a permanent mark on the region. Sheridan County was the site of an armed robbery of $100,000 from the county treasury, a Young Communist camp, an adolescent's "Bolshevik funeral," and surveillance by FBI agents who pursued some radical leaders even into the 1960s. The book profiles several influential Communists including a colorful newspaper editor who was elected state senator and later national chairman of the Farmer Labor Party, as well as his comrade, the county sheriff, who was allegedly involved in graft, prostitution, and bootlegging. In spite of its notoriety, the farmers' movement became one of the nation's most successful rural Communist organizations during the 1920s.
By the beginning of the Depression decade, however, Communism in northeastern Montana was crippled. The Red Corner details this strange reversal of fortune by examining newspaper accounts, FBI reports, and internal Communist Party files, offering insights on how movements arise, sustain themselves, and decline.
By the beginning of the Depression decade, however, Communism in northeastern Montana was crippled. The Red Corner details this strange reversal of fortune by examining newspaper accounts, FBI reports, and internal Communist Party files, offering insights on how movements arise, sustain themselves, and decline.
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Editorial Reviews
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It's a fascinating tale about a little-known piece of Montana history.
There is surely enough drama in the headlines and in the FBI files and oral histories that she researched for an even larger volume, maybe even a great novel.
--Billings GazetteThere is surely enough drama in the headlines and in the FBI files and oral histories that she researched for an even larger volume, maybe even a great novel.
McDonald has taken a bursting corner of forgotten Americana and made it unforgettable.
--Michael Peck, The Missoula Independent, 3/17/11
From the Back Cover
With local savvy and the detective skills of a first-rate scholar, Verlaine Stoner McDonald splendidly recreates the "Red days" of radical politics in the Depression-hit farm country of northeasternmost Montana. This extraordinary chapter of Montana history, little-known at best and often deliberately obscured, at last has found its clear true voice.
Ivan Doig, author of Bucking the Sun
Ivan Doig, author of Bucking the Sun
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More About the Author
Verlaine Stoner McDonald grew up on the Sheridan County, Montana farm homesteaded by her great grandparents in 1909. She received her bachelor's degree from Seattle Pacific University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. Since 1995, she has been a professor in the Department of English, Theatre and Speech Communication at Berea College, and lives in Berea, Kentucky with her family.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent addition to college library and Montana history shelves,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Red Corner: The Rise and Fall of Communism in Northeastern Montana (Paperback)
The Red Corner: The Rise and Fall of Communism in Northeastern Montana is the true story of how Sheridan County of Montana became a successful, virtually Communist community during the 1920s and early 1930s. Sheridan County used to have a government run primarily by Communists, a Communist youth camp, and an official newspaper of the American Communist Party, the "Producers News". Communist influence declined in the 30's, and in time residents came to view Sheridan County's Communist days as a mark of shame. Author and professor Verlaine Stoner McDonald reconstitutes history from newspaper accounts, oral testimonies, FBI reports, and internal Communist Party files in The Red Corner, creating a thoroughly accessible encapsulation of the Sheridan County Communist movement's evolution, effects, and legacy. The result is an excellent addition to college library and Montana history shelves.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling story in a most unlikely place,
This review is from: Red Corner: The Rise and Fall of Communism in Northeastern Montana (Paperback)
The Red Corner tells the true story of how a communist conspiracy stretching from Montana to the Kremlin enabled a group of radicals to sweep the elections of Sheridan County, Montana, and achieve unprecedented political success. It's a compelling and sordid story that includes prostitution, armed robbery, murder, as well as hardship on the American frontier. It's almost unbelievable how successful the radicals were in deceiving local citizens for so long, but McDonald gives some valuable insights into the economic and social forces of the day that made the communist message so attractive. The author tells the story well, and she describes the events in the context of other radical political movements of the day. I highly recommend it.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling, little-known history,
By Christy (Helena, MT) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Red Corner: The Rise and Fall of Communism in Northeastern Montana (Paperback)
A communist newspaper editor moves into the the tiny town of Plentywood, Montana, and, along with a few radical cronies, convinces a large percentage of the local farmers to support the communist cause. It's almost too crazy of a story to believe, but Verlaine McDonald has done solid research to present this fascinating story. The Red Corner is history at its compelling best.
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