Solidarity and Spirit: The Rough-and-Tumble Faith of Ralph Chaplin

Although his life and work are now mostly forgotten, in his day Ralph Chaplin was one of the most important writers, artists, and activists in the movement for the rights of workers in America. Over a tumultuous lifetime, Chaplin was a hero to the working class, an enemy of both the United States government and worldwide Communism, and a literary inspiration for countless readers. Indeed, Chaplin led one of the most remarkable lives of any twentieth-century American, regardless of social origins, economic condition, or political ideology. Noteworthy especially, given the radical experiences of Chaplin’s early years, was his choice, at age sixty-two, to enter the Catholic Church. This essay tells a part of that story.