Hunter's politics were largely affected by the grinding poverty he witnessed during the deep economic depression that hit America in the mid-1890s, juxtaposed to the wealth and privilege of his own family.
His time in Chicago had brought him in close contact with a number of social reformers such as Jane Addams, Mary McDowell, Ellen Gates Starr, Edith Abbott, Sophonisba Breckinridge, Florence Kelley, Julia Lathrop, Alice Hamilton, Grace Abbott and later in England, Scottish labor leader and socialist Keir Hardie and Russian anarchist Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin.
In 1905 Hunter joined the Socialist Party of America along with his wife, his brother-in-law, James Stokes, and his sister-in-law, Rose Pastor Stokes, On September 12 of that year he was named to the executive committee of the newly established Intercollegiate Socialist Society in New York.
The goal of the organization was to promote discussion of socialist ideals in colleges and universities; it had for its first president writer Jack London and vice president Upton Sinclair.
Hunter ran for political office twice on the socialist ticket, first for a seat in the New York State Assembly, and next as a candidate for United States Senator for the State of Connecticut; both campaigns ended in defeat.
After the outbreak of the First World War a rift in the socialist movement led to Hunter’s resignation, along with those of a number of other high-profile members, including London and Sinclair.
Years later, Hunter would support Republican Wendell Willkie over President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1940 presidential campaign.
Hunter's politics were largely affected by the grinding poverty he witnessed during the deep economic depression that hit America in the mid-1890s, juxtaposed to the wealth and privilege of his own family. His time in Chicago had brought him in close contact with a number of social reformers such as Jane Addams, Mary McDowell, Ellen Gates Starr, Edith Abbott, Sophonisba Breckinridge, Florence Kelley, Julia Lathrop, Alice Hamilton, Grace Abbott and later in England, Scottish labor leader and socialist Keir Hardie and Russian anarchist Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin. In 1905 Hunter joined the Socialist Party of America along with his wife, his brother-in-law, James Stokes, and his sister-in-law, Rose Pastor Stokes, On September 12 of that year he was named to the executive committee of the newly established Intercollegiate Socialist Society in New York. The goal of the organization was to promote discussion of socialist ideals in colleges and universities; it had for its first president writer Jack London and vice president Upton Sinclair. Hunter ran for political office twice on the socialist ticket, first for a seat in the New York State Assembly, and next as a candidate for United States Senator for the State of Connecticut; both campaigns ended in defeat. After the outbreak of the First World War a rift in the socialist movement led to Hunter’s resignation, along with those of a number of other high-profile members, including London and Sinclair. Years later, Hunter would support Republican Wendell Willkie over President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1940 presidential campaign.
Robert Hunter (author)