The International Workingmen's Association, also known as the First International, was an international communist, socialist, and anarchist political alliance that sought to engage in class struggle through uniting workers in trade unions. Formed in 1864, the IWA would have 8,000,000 members at its height, but the organization split in 1872 due to splits between the socialist and anarchist factions of the IWA. In 1876, the organization was disbanded.