Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I’m your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we turn our focus to one of the most defining moments in Scottish political history: the arrest of revolutionary socialist John Maclean on October 27, 1915, during the height of World War I. This day marked a pivotal moment in Maclean's life and the wider Red Clydeside era, forever etching his name in the annals of Scotland's radical history.

John Maclean, born on August 24, 1879, in Pollokshaws, Glasgow, was a schoolteacher by profession. Raised in a Calvinist, working-class household by Gaelic-speaking parents, Maclean's early life was shaped by the hardships of the industrial era. His father, a potter from Bo’ness, passed away when John was only nine years old, leaving his mother to raise the family. Despite these challenges, Maclean showed an early aptitude for education, eventually earning a Master of Arts degree from the University of Glasgow.

But teaching was not Maclean’s only passion. His political awakening came in the early 1900s, inspired by Robert Blatchford’s socialist work Merrie England. Maclean quickly recognized that improving the conditions of the working class required more than reform; it required revolution. He became a devoted Marxist, joining the Social Democratic Federation, and later the British Socialist Party (BSP), where he emerged as one of Scotland’s most outspoken critics of the capitalist system.

By the time World War I broke out in 1914, Maclean's activism had reached new heights. He viewed the war as nothing more than an imperialist conflict that pitted working-class men of different nations against each other in the service of capitalist interests. His fierce anti-war stance put him at odds with the British government, and it was this defiance that led to his arrest on October 27, 1915. Under the harsh Defence of the Realm Act, Maclean was charged for speaking out against the war, a crime that not only led to his imprisonment but also cost him his job as a teacher at Lorne Street Primary School in Govan.

Dismissed from his teaching post, Maclean transitioned to a full-time role as a Marxist lecturer and organizer, dedicating his life to educating workers on socialist theory. His goal was clear: to equip the Scottish working class with the knowledge and tools necessary to overthrow capitalism. He believed that Scottish workers, with their history of clan-based communal living, were uniquely suited to lead a revolutionary movement—a concept he referred to as "Celtic Communism."

In the years following his 1915 arrest, Maclean became increasingly involved in anti-war activities. His opposition to conscription and his efforts to mobilize the working class against the war made him a target for further arrests. In April 1918, Maclean was once again imprisoned, this time for sedition. His trial in Edinburgh has since become legendary. Conducting his own defense, Maclean delivered a 75-minute speech from the dock, one that remains a celebrated text among Scottish leftists to this day.

In his speech, Maclean declared that he stood not as the accused, but as the accuser, condemning capitalism as a system "dripping with blood from head to foot." He framed the war as a direct result of capitalist exploitation and vowed to continue his fight for the working class, regardless of the consequences. His defiance earned him a five-year prison sentence, which he served in the harsh conditions of Peterhead Prison, where he was force-fed during a hunger strike. This ordeal took a severe toll on his health, leaving him physically weakened for the rest of his life.

However, the armistice of November 1918 brought an early end to Maclean’s imprisonment. Upon his release, he was greeted as a hero by thousands of supporters in Glasgow, who viewed him as a martyr for the socialist cause. Maclean wasted no time in resuming his activism, standing as a Labour candidate in the 1918 general election, though he was unsuccessful in securing a seat.

Despite his waning health, Maclean remained undeterred in his mission to build a socialist republic in Scotland. He founded the Scottish Workers Republican Party in 1923, seeking to unite the ideals of socialism with Scottish nationalism. Though the movement never gained significant traction, Maclean’s vision of a workers’ republic—rooted in both Marxist theory and Scottish identity—continued to inspire future generations of Scottish socialists.

John Maclean’s life was tragically cut short when he died of pneumonia on November 30, 1923, at the age of just 44. His health had been permanently damaged by his time in prison and the brutal force-feeding he had endured during his hunger strikes. Yet, his legacy lived on. Maclean's funeral was one of the largest ever seen in Glasgow, attended by thousands who regarded him as a champion of the working class. His contributions to the Scottish left were so significant that Vladimir Lenin himself described Maclean as one of the "isolated heroes" of the world revolution.

John Maclean remains an iconic figure in Scottish history, a symbol of resistance against imperialism, capitalism, and war. His life and work continue to resonate with activists and socialists around the world, especially in Scotland, where his fight for justice and equality is still remembered with pride.

Thank you for joining us on This Day in Scottish History. Tune in tomorrow for another look at the moments that shaped Scotland’s past. I’m Colin MacDonald, Haste Ye Back!

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