Biography of Earl Browder

On May 20, 1891, Browder was born into a poor teacher family in Wichita, Kansas, USA. He was a descendant of British immigrants. His father was a local school teacher and pastor. He went to school at the age of 7 and dropped out of school when his father was ill when he was 10 years old. He first worked as a wholesaler in a drugstore and later became the accountant of the drugstore. In 1906, Browder joined the Socialist Party of America with his father and began his political career.

In 1911, Browder moved to Kansas City, Missouri. The following year, the Socialist Party split. He left the Socialist Party and established contact with the North American Syndicalist League led by William Foster, and helped this organization edit and publish Labor magazine until 1915. During this time, he completed correspondence courses in law school and also participated in the Kansas chapter of the American Federation of Labor's Bookkeepers and Stenographers, of which he was elected president.