The Red Falcons of America was established by the Socialist Party of America (SPA) in 1933. The group was targeted at children who might otherwise be swept up by the Boy Scouts and and Girl Scouts movement, which was seen as a training organization for the military, or the Sunday schools, which were seen as a source of passivity and fatalism. Boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 15 were eligible for membership in the group, of which it was said that it "trains them for service in the class struggle and membership in the Young People's Socialist League."
The American Red Falcons had two divisions, the "Young Falcons" (sometimes called "Red Sparks"), ages 8–11; and the "Red Falcons" proper, ages 11–15. These groups were led by older mentors recruited from the ranks of the Young People's Socialist League (YPSL).
The Red Falcons were structured in a manner analogous to scouts and participating children wore distinct uniforms. The basic unit of the Red Falcons was known as a "flight." An auxiliary organization of the SPA was established to organize and financially support these local flights, known as Friends of Workers Children (FWC). These FWC "clubs" were intended to gather supportive parents, community trade unionists, teachers, and interested adults in order to "bolster up the work of the local Falcon flight" through advice, financial aid, and publicity.
The Red Falcons and Friends of Workers Children held a national convention in Cleveland, Ohio in the spring of 1936 to better coordinate national activities. It was at this time that the American organization joined the International Falcon Movement, headquartered in Europe and associated with the Socialist International. National Secretary of the Red Falcons and Friends of Workers Children in that year was Harry Fleischman. The group maintained a headquarters office in the Moxley Building in Chicago.
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