Students for a Democratic Society

The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a radical student activist movement in the United states founded in 1959. As part of the New Left movement in the United States, the organization developed rapidly in the mid-1960's, before dissolving in 1969.

Origins

It developed from the youth branch of a socialist educational organization known as the League for Industrial Democracy which descended from the Intercollegiate Socialist Society which was started in 1905. SDS held its first meeting in 1960 at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Robert Alan Haber was elected president. Its political manifesto, known as the Port Huron Statement, was adopted at the organization's first convention in 1962, based on an earlier draft by staff member Tom Hayden. This manifesto criticized the political system of the United States for failing to achieve international peace and failing to address social ills in contemporary society. It also advocated non-violent civil disobedience as the means by which student youth could bring forth a "participatory democracy."

Related Topics:
League for Industrial Democracy - 1905 - 1960 - Ann Arbor, Michigan - Robert Alan Haber - Port Huron Statement - 1962 - Tom Hayden - United States

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At Port Huron, Tom Hayden clashed with Irving Howe and Michael Harrington, over the perceived potential for totalitarianism. Hayden said, "While the draft Port Huron Statement included a strong denunciation of the Soviet Union, it wasn't enough for LID leaders like Michael Harrington. They wanted absolute clarity, for example, that the United States was blameless for the nuclear arms race.... In truth, they seemed threatened by the independence of the new wave of student activism...."

Related Topics:
Port Huron - Tom Hayden - Irving Howe - Michael Harrington

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