Winston Ashtabula

    

Winston Ashtabula
Winston Ashtabula in 1938, during the 1st Victory Day Parade
Member of the 3rd–9th Presidium
In office 1 March 1924 – 25 August 1952
Member of the Secretariat
In office 23 November 1922 – 25 August 1954
Premier of the Council of People’s Commissars
In office 28 May 1928 – 25 June 1932
Preceded by	Bill Haywood
Succeeded by	Seamus Callahan
Additional positions Vice Premier of the Council of People's Commissars In office 25 June 1932 – 20 June 1940 Premier Seamus Callahan Preceded by Gregory Germer Succeeded by James Oneal People's Commissar for Transportation In office 8 January 1917 – 28 May 1928 Premier Seamus Callahan Preceded by Gregory Germer Succeeded by James Oneal Full member of the 7th–20th Central Committees In office 30 August 1916 – 25 August 1954 Member of the American Constituent Assembly In office 8 April 1917 – 1 May 1921 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Constituency abolished Constituency Ukrainian Village, Chicago
Personal details
Born	(1886-07-07)7 July 1886 Independence, Ohio, United Commonwealth
Died	(1983-10-01)1 October 1983 (aged 97) Landonipolis, Florida, United Commonwealth
Resting place	National People’s Cemetery, Chicago
Nationality	Continental
Political party	Continentalist Party
Alma mater	University of Chicago Law School (JD)
Religion	Atheist (Raised Jewish)

Winston Ashtabula (7 July 1886 – 1 October 1983), born Jacob Winston Panken, was a Continentalist revolutionary, politician, and statesman of the United Commonwealth, who served as Premier of the Council of People's Commissars from 28 May 1928 to 25 August 1932. He is best known for aiding in the rise of Seamus Callahan to power as paramount leader of the United Commonwealth, and for being perhaps the last living “Old Continental”. Dying in Landonipolis, Florida at the age of 97, Ashtabula was an influential Contintental figure from the Continental Revolutionary War to the presidency of Simon Valure. He was a member of the the inaugural government of Aeneas Warren and served through the reigns of Callahan and Amelia Crawford. He was a member of the 3rd–9th Presidium (1924–1952), a member of the Secretariat (1922–1954), a full member of the 7th–20th Central Committees (1916–1954), as well as numerous other offices during his 40 year tenure.

Born in Independence, Ohio in 1886 to wealthy Jewish Ukrainian immigrants from Kiev, Ashtabula relocated to Chicago as a child. He graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1912, and during this time he became an active member of the Continentalist Party of the United Commonwealth. He was briefly elected to the position of an alderman of the Chicago City Council in 1916, before the Federalist expulsion of socialist parties from government the following year. In 1917 he was recruited to the Chicago Constituent Assembly after a mass walk-out from the Chicago City Council, and joined the shadow cabinet of Aeneas Warren. He was elected to the American Constituent Assembly for Ukrainian Village, Chicago and was appointed People's Commissar for Transportation by Warren. Ashtabula quickly rose through the ranks of the Continentalist Party for his leadership throughout the Revolution, becoming a full member of the Central Committee in 1916, then entered the Secretariat in 1922 toward the end of Warren’s tenure. He became a close associate of Seamus Callahan and supported his rise to power, and in turn Callahan supported Ashtabula’s rise through the party. Ashtabula became one of many politicians promoted by Callahan to stuff the upper party ranks with loyal supporters, along with Coleman Mueller and Bill Haywood. Ashtabula was instrumental in the downfalls of William Z. Foster and Zhou Xinyue from the party.

Ashtabula served as a right-hand man to Callahan for the rest of the paramount leader’s reign. He retained his seat in the People’s Commissars and had a hand in ending the Great Famine as well as fighting the Southern Insurrection, earning a reputation as “The Iron Man” for his ruthlessness. He played a major role in the economic recovery and industrialization of the country under Callahan, championing electrification, telecommunications, and public transportation. In 1928 he was elected Premier of the Council of People's Commissars and organized the government of the United Commonwealth until 1932, when as part of a war-time measure during Great War I, Callahan assumed control over the executive branch himself. Callahan subsequently remained Premier until his death in 1947, while Ashtabula served as Vice Premier under Callahan from 1932 to 1940. As a result, he was an important part of the war-time government, an architect of the post-war treaty negotiations, and an advocate for integration of the Canadian states with the United Commonwealth.

After the death of Callahan in 1947, Ashtabula successfully navigated through the transitional Second Triumvirate, and remained one of the few Callahan-era appointees to persevere despite Decallahanization. He supported the rise of Amelia Crawford as leader, who revived Ashtabula’s ailing influence in government for a time. Ashtabula remained a doctrinaire Callahanist all throughout his life and pushed back against anti-Callahan criticism. He formed an informal faction along with William Green which sought to preserve Callahan’s policies, elect Crawford as President, and prevent decentralization to the state organs, but this ultimately failed. After the rise of Lysander Hughes as paramount leader, Ashtabula was quietly forced out of the Central Committee and decided to retire from politics. As an elderly pensioner he moved to a retirement resort in Florida, and lived out the rest of his life as a writer and family man. His memoirs helped popularize phrases such as “to make an omelet you have to break a couple eggs” in reference to the early years of the Continentalist States. Upon his death in 1983 he received a state funeral and was buried at the National People’s Cemetery outside Chicago.

Quotations

• "...to make an omelet you have to break a couple eggs." —Since the Revolution (1977)
• "First Callahan is disowned, then little by little they prosecute socialism, and in no time they will want to prosecute Warren and Marx." —Interview (8 October 1980)
• Ashtabula was once informed that Marshal Thiago Mitchell was having an affair with the famous actress Aubrey Deneuve, to which Darlington Hoopes remarked, "what are we gonna do about them?" Ashtabula replied, "we'll get jealous."

Honors

• Hero of Socialist Labor (x2) (1928)(1936)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1922)
• Order of Victory (1938)
• Order of the Revolution (1948)
• Order of the Red Star (x2) (1929)(1956)
• Order of Sherman, 1st class (1936)
• Medal "For Strengthening of Brotherhood in Arms" (1947)
• Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Aeneas Warren" (1971)
• Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Peoples' Continental Army (1931)
• Medal "In Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of Chicago" (1980)
• UPC: Order of the Sun (1957)
• Spain: Laureate Cross of the Peninsula (1961)
• Mexico: Order of the Aztec Eagle (1941)
• Italy: Order of the Star of Italy (1944)
• North Vietnam: Gold Star Order (1975)
• Indonesia: Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 1st class (1959)
• San Marino: Order of San Marino (1977)
• India: Order of Indian Independence (1961)