John Maclean Morgan Landels

Early life Maclean was born in Pollokshaws, then on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland, to parents of Highland origin; his father Daniel (1845–1888) hailing from the Isle of Mull and his mother Ann (1846–1914) from Corpach Raised in a Calvinist household, Maclean trained as a schoolteacher under the auspices of the Free Church and then attended part-time classes at the University of Glasgow, graduating with a Master of Arts degree in (Maclean often used the letters M.A. after his name when being published).

Overall summary John Maclean MA (24 August 1879 – 30 November 1923) was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary socialist. He is primarily known as a Marxist educator and notable for his outspoken opposition to the First World War. Maclean is regarded as one of the leading figures of the Red Clydeside era. His imprisonment for agitation against the war earned him an international reputation and he was elected an honorary vice-president of the Congress of Soviets and appointed Bolshevik representative in Scotland

Political development Maclean first came to politics through the Pollokshaws Progressive Union and Robert Blatchford's Merrie England. He became convinced that the living standards of the working-classes could only be improved by social revolution and it was as a Marxist that he joined the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), and remained in the organisation as it formed the British Socialist Party. Maclean was also an active member of the Co-operative movement and it was his prominent role that led the Renfrewshire Co-operative Societies to pressurise local school boards to provide facilities for adult classes in economics

Trial and imprisonment On 15 April 1918, Maclean was arrested for sedition. He was refused bail and his trial fixed for 9 May in Edinburgh. He conducted his own defence in a defiant manner, refusing to plead and when asked if he objected to any of the jurors replying, "I object to the whole lot of them." The prosecution case was based on the testimony of witnesses who had attended his meetings, who quoted extracts from his speeches using notes they had written up from memory after the meeting. Maclean objected to his words being taken out of context, saying. "The main parts of my speech, in which my themes are developed are omitted. I want to expose the trickery of the British government and their police and their lawyers. Following the armistice on 11 November, he was released on 3 December 1918, returning to Glasgow to a tumultuous welcome.