Steve Nelson (activist)
Steve Nelson | |
|---|---|
Nelson in 1948 | |
| Birth name | Stjepan Mesaroš |
| Born | January 1, 1903 |
| Died | December 11, 1993 (aged 90) New York City, U.S. |
| Allegiance | Spanish Republic |
| Branch | International Brigades |
| Service years | 1937 |
| Rank | Battalion Commander |
| Unit | The "Abraham Lincoln" XV International Brigade |
| Commands | Lincoln Battalion |
| Conflicts | |
| Alma mater | International Lenin School New York Workers School |
| Spouse |
Margaret Yaeger
(m. 1925; died 1986) |
| Children |
|
| National Commander of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade | |
| In office 1963 – December 11, 1993 | |
| Executive Secretary-Treasurer | |
| Preceded by | Milton Wolff |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Socialist Labor (before 1923) Communist (1923–1957) |
Steve Nelson (born Stjepan Mesaroš; January 1, 1903 – December 11, 1993) was a Croatian-born American labor activist. He was one of nearly 3,000 American volunteers who joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, where he served as a political commissar. For years, he was a leading functionary of the Communist Party USA. He achieved public notoriety in the early 1950s when he was convicted and imprisoned under the Pennsylvania Sedition Act and the federal Smith Act. He is perhaps best remembered as the defendant in Pennsylvania v. Nelson, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1956 which invalidated state sedition laws.