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Democratic Socialist Federation

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The Democratic Socialist Federation was founded by members of the Social Democratic Federation who had opposed the latter's 1956 reunification with the Socialist Party of America in 1956.

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67-855: The Federation merged with the Socialist Party in March 1972. In December of that year, the Socialist Party–Social Democratic Federation voted to change its name to Social Democrats, USA . In its 1972 Convention, the Socialist Party had two Co-Chairmen, Bayard Rustin and Charles S. Zimmerman (of the International Ladies Garment ;Workers' Union , ILGWU) and a First National Vice Chairman, James S. Glaser, who were re-elected by acclamation . The Party changed its name to " Social Democrats, USA " by

134-495: A Marxist theorist who had broken with Leon Trotsky because of his criticism of the Soviet Union as being a totalitarian class-society after having supported Trotsky in the 1930s. Although Schachtman died in 1972 before the Socialist Party was renamed as SDUSA, Shachtman's ideas continued to influence Albert Shanker and The American Federation of Teachers, which was often associated with SDUSA members. Decades later, conflicts in

201-574: A Shachtmanite". Besides objecting to being called a "neoconservative", Kemble "sharply criticized the Bush administration's approach on [Iraq]. 'The distinction between liberation and democratization, which requires a strategy and instruments, was an idea never understood by the administration,' he told the New Republic ", wrote The Washington Post in Kemble's obituary. Joshua Muravchik has identified himself as

268-469: A United States political party is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Social Democrats, USA Progressive Era Repression and persecution Anti-war and civil rights movements Contemporary Social Democrats, USA ( SDUSA ) is a social democratic organization established in 1972 as the successor of the Socialist Party of America (SPA). The SPA had stopped running independent presidential candidates though retains

335-470: A communal movement that stressed social justice and nonviolence. Harrington enjoyed arguing about culture and politics, and his Jesuit education had made him a good debater and rhetorician. Harrington was an editor of the newspaper Catholic Worker from 1951 to 1953, but he soon became disillusioned with religion. Although he always retained a certain affection for Catholic culture, he ultimately became an atheist . Harrington's estrangement from religion

402-462: A convention held August 26–27, 2012, in Buffalo, New York , with a keynote address delivered by Richard Lipsitz, executive director of Western New York Labor Federation. Michael Harrington charged that its "obsessive anti-communism " rendered SDUSA politically conservative. In contrast, Harrington's DSOC and DSA criticized Marxism–Leninism , but he opposed many defense-and-diplomatic policies against

469-532: A former Trotskyist named Max Shachtman—a fact that today has taken on a life of its own. Tracing forward in lineage through me and a few other ex-YPSL's [members of the Young Peoples Socialist League ] turned neoconservatives, this happenstance has fueled the accusation that neoconservatism itself, and through it the foreign policy of the Bush administration, are somehow rooted in 'Trotskyism.' I am more inclined to laugh than to cry over this, but since

536-403: A neoconservative. When Muravhchik appeared at the 2003 SDUSA conference, he was criticized by SDUSA members: Rachelle Horowitz, another Social Democrats, USA, luminary and an event organizer, called Muravchik's comments "profoundly disturbing"—both his use of "us and them" rhetoric and the term "evil." The existence of evil in the world was something Horowitz was happy to concede, she said from

603-483: A ratio of two to one. The Convention elected a national committee of 33 members, with 22 seats for the majority caucus, eight seats for the Coalition Caucus of Harrington, two for the left-wing Debs Caucus and one for the independent Samuel H. Friedman . Friedman and the minority caucuses had opposed the name change. The convention voted on and adopted proposals for its program by a two-one vote. On foreign policy,

670-402: A social democrat and objected to being called a neoconservative. Kemble and Joshua Muravchik were never followers of Max Shachtman. On the contrary, Kemble was recruited by a non-Shachtmanite professor, according to Muravchik, who wrote: "Although Shachtman was one of the elder statesmen who occasionally made stirring speeches to us, no YPSL [Young People's Socialist League] of my generation was

737-454: A social democratic party. In foreign policy, most of the founding SDUSA leadership called for an immediate cessation of the bombing of North Vietnam . They demanded a negotiated peace treaty to end the Vietnam War , but the majority opposed a unilateral withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam, suggesting that such a withdrawal would lead to an annihilation of the free labor unions and of

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804-463: A vote of 73 to 34. Changing the name of the Socialist Party to "Social Democrats USA" was intended to be "realistic." The New York Times observed that the Socialist Party had last sponsored a candidate for President in 1956 , who received only 2,121 votes, which were cast in only six states. Because the Socialist Party no longer sponsored candidates in Presidential elections, continued use of

871-425: A writer. Gervis Harrington died on November 8, 2008, at age 71. In 1978, the periodical Christian Century quoted Harrington: I am a pious apostate, an atheist shocked by the faithlessness of the believers, a fellow traveler of moderate Catholicism who has been out of the church for 20 years. Harrington observed of himself and his high school classmate Tom Dooley, "each of us was motivated, in part at least, by

938-670: Is also credited with coining the term neoconservatism in 1973. Harrington said that socialists had to go through the Democratic Party to enact their policies, reasoning that the socialist vote had declined from a peak of approximately one million in the years around World War I to a few thousand by the 1950s. He considered running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980 against President Jimmy Carter , but decided against it after Senator Ted Kennedy announced his campaign. He later endorsed Kennedy and said, "if Kennedy loses or

1005-576: Is also still "committed to the vibrant democratic socialist movement". SDUSA's politics were criticized by former SPA chairman Michael Harrington , who in 1972 announced that he favored an immediate pull-out of American forces from Vietnam and coined the term "neoconservative". After losing all votes at the 1972 convention that changed the SPA to SDUSA, Harrington resigned in 1973 to form the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee ,

1072-745: Is driven out of this campaign, it will be a loss for the left". In 1982, the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee merged with the New American Movement , an organization of New Left activists, forming the Democratic Socialists of America . It was the principal U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International , which includes socialist and labour parties such as the Swedish and German Social Democrats and

1139-606: The British Labour Party , until it voted to leave in 2017. Harrington remained chairman of DSA from its inception to his death. During the 1980s, Harrington contributed commentaries to National Public Radio. Harrington embraced a democratic interpretation of the writings of Karl Marx while rejecting the " actually existing " systems of the Soviet Union , China and the Eastern Bloc . In 1988, Harrington said: Marx

1206-666: The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC). Many members of the Debs Caucus resigned from SDUSA and some of them formed the Socialist Party USA . The changing of the name of the SPA to SDUSA and the 1973 formation of DSOC and the SPUSA represented a split in the American socialist movement . In 1973, SDUSA claimed 1,800 members. In domestic politics, the SDUSA leadership emphasized

1273-690: The Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc . Harrington voiced admiration for German Chancellor Willy Brandt 's Ostpolitik which sought to reduce Western distrust of and hostility towards the Eastern Bloc and so entice the Soviet Union reciprocally to reduce its aggressive military posture. SDUSA leaders have served in the administrations of Presidents since the 1980 and the service of some members in Republican administrations has been associated with controversy. SDUSA members like Gershman were called "State Department socialists" by Massing (1987) , who wrote that

1340-503: The foreign policy of the Reagan administration was being run by Trotskyists , a claim that was called a "myth" by Lipset (1988 , p. 34). This "Trotskyist" charge has been repeated and even widened by journalist Michael Lind in 2003 to assert a takeover of the foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration by former Trotskyists. Lind's "amalgamation of the defense intellectuals with

1407-540: The " bureaucratic collectivist " states in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. In 1955, Harrington was placed on the FBI Index , whose master list contained more than 10 million names in 1939. From the 1950s through to the 1970s, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover added an untold number of names of U.S. activists he considered "dangerous characters", to be placed in detention camps in case of a national emergency. Later, Harrington

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1474-512: The "reactionary policies of the Nixon Administration" and Rustin also criticized the "irresponsibility and élitism of the 'New Politics' liberals". The party changed its name to Social Democrats, USA, by a vote of 73 to 34. Changing the name of the Socialist Party of America to Social Democrats, USA, was intended to be "realistic" as the intention was to respond to the end of the running of actual SPA candidates for office and to respond to

1541-530: The AFL–CIO as well as Sandra Feldman and Rachelle Horowitz of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Internationally, the group supported the dissident Polish labor organization Solidarity and several anti-communist political movements in global hot spots. Using the "social democrat" label rather than "socialist" was meant to disassociate the group from the Soviet Union . SDUSA, while social democratic,

1608-688: The AFL–CIO were roughly split in 1995 along the lines of the conflict between the "Shachtmanite Social Democrats and the Harringtonite Democratic Socialists of America, with the Social Democrats supporting Kirkland and Donahue and the Democratic Socialists supporting Sweeney". Author Justin Vaisse considers some SDUSA members "right-wing social democrats", a taunt according to Wattenberg. SDUSA members supported Solidarity ,

1675-548: The Democratic Party according to the majority report. The name "Socialist" was replaced by "Social Democrats" because many American associated the term " socialism " with Marxism–Leninism . Moreover, the organization sought to distinguish itself from two small Marxist parties, the Socialist Workers Party and the Socialist Labor Party . During the 1972 Convention, the majority (Unity Caucus) won every vote by

1742-463: The Democratic Party. SDUSA members stated concerns about an exaggerated role of middle-class peace activists in the Democratic Party, particularly associated with the "New Politics" of Senator George McGovern , whose presidential candidacy was viewed as an ongoing disaster for the Democratic Party and for the United States. In electoral politics, SDUSA aimed to transform the Democratic Party into

1809-474: The Jesuit inspiration of our adolescence that insisted so strenuously that a man must live his philosophy." In his 1983 Wilson Quarterly article "The Politics at God's Funeral", Harrington wrote that religion was passing into oblivion, but he worried that the passing of legitimizing religious authority made Western societies lose a basis for virtue or common values. He proposed that democratic socialism help create

1876-468: The SPA changed its name to SDUSA, Bayard Rustin became its public spokesman. According to Rustin, SDUSA aimed to transform the Democratic Party into a social democratic party. A strategy of re-alignment was particularly associated with Max Shachtman. Some months after the convention, Harrington resigned his membership in SDUSA and he and some of his supporters from the Coalition Caucus soon formed

1943-516: The Senator George McGovern 's "New Leftist" approach, pointing to the rout suffered in the 1972 presidential election . As a result, some SDUSA members, like Penn Kemble and Joshua Muravchik , were associated with neoconservatism . SDUSA's activities have included sponsoring discussions and issuing position papers. SDUSA has included civil rights activists and leaders of labor unions such as Bayard Rustin , Norman Hill and Tom Kahn of

2010-623: The Sermon on the Mount to America," and "among veterans in the War on Poverty, no one has been a more loyal ally when the night was darkest." By the early 1970s, the governing faction of the Socialist Party continued to endorse a negotiated peace to end the Vietnam War, a stance that Harrington came to believe was no longer viable. The majority changed the organization's name to Social Democrats, USA . After losing at

2077-722: The Soviet Union. Sociologist Bogdan Denitch wrote in the DSA's Democratic Left (quoted in 1989): The aim of democrats and socialists should be… to help the chances of successful reform in the Soviet bloc. […] While supporting liberalization and economic reforms from above, socialists should be particularly active in contacting and encouraging the tender shoots of democracy from below. Harrington voiced admiration for German Social Democratic Chancellor Willy Brandt 's Ostpolitik , which sought to reduce antagonism between Western Europe and Soviet states. From May 30, 1963, until his death, Harrington

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2144-591: The attendees—and organizers—were unwilling to go. Among Joshua Muravchick's SDUSA critics was his own father Emanuel Muravchik (a Norman Thomas socialist). His mother was too upset with Joshua's Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism to attend the discussion. On the other hand, Joshua Muravchik was called a "second-generation neoconservative" by Vaisse. King, Bill (March 22, 2004). "Neoconservatives and Trotskyism. The question of 'Shachtmanism' " . Enter Stage Right: Politics, Culture, Economics (3): 1–2. ISSN   1488-1756 . "became devotees of

2211-428: The black community was the chimera of identity politics , particularly the rise of Black Power which Rustin dismissed as a fantasy of middle-class African-Americans that repeated the political and moral errors of previous black nationalists while alienating the white allies needed by the black community. SDUSA documents had similar criticisms of the agendas advanced by middle class activists increasing their role in

2278-411: The confusions of Americans. The New York Times observed that the Socialist Party had last sponsored Darlington Hoopes as candidate for President in 1956 and who received only 2,121 votes, which were cast in only six states. Because the SPA no longer sponsored party candidates in elections, continued use of the name "party" was "misleading" and hindered the recruiting of activists who participated in

2345-494: The convention, Harrington resigned and, with his former caucus, formed the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee . A smaller faction, associated with peace activist David McReynolds , formed the Socialist Party USA . Harrington was appointed a professor of political science at Queens College in Flushing , New York City, in 1972. He wrote 16 books and was named a distinguished professor of political science in 1988. Harrington

2412-535: The existence of Israel and the Israeli labor movement. From 1979–1989, SDUSA members were organized to support of Solidarity , the independent labor union of Poland . The organization also attempted to exert influence through endorsements of presidential candidates. The group's 1976 National Convention, held in New York City, formally endorsed the Democratic ticket of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale and pledged

2479-478: The floor. But it was a word incapable of clear political definition and thus a producer of muddle rather than clarity, zeal rather than political action. Then Herf jumped in with similar criticisms. And then Berman. And Ibrahim. And before long, more or less everyone else in the room. There was still something, it seemed, that separated them from the neocons who hovered over the proceedings both as opponents and inspirations. Muravchik wanted to pull them somewhere most of

2546-404: The forerunner of the Democratic Socialists of America . By the early 1970s, the Socialist Party of America (SPA) was publicly associated with A. Philip Randolph , the civil rights and labor union leader; and with Michael Harrington , the author of The Other America . Even before the 1972 convention, Harrington had resigned as an Honorary Chairperson of the SPA "because he was upset about

2613-590: The former styling itself as the Social Democrats, USA – Socialist Party USA and the latter as Social Democrats, USA. Two additional conventions took place since the 2009 reformation, an internet teleconference on September 1, 2010, featuring presentations by guest speakers Herb Engstrom of the California Democratic Party Executive Committee and Roger Clayman, Executive Director of the Long Island Labor Federation; and

2680-840: The freedom of association in 1981, whereas Caspar Weinberger and neoconservative Jeane Kirkpatrick preferred to force the communist government of Poland to default on its international payments so they would lose credibility. Kahn argued for his position in a 1981 debate with neoconservative Norman Podhoretz , who like Kirkpatrick and Weinberger opposed all credits. In 1982, Kirkpatrick called similarly for Western assistance to Poland to be used to help Solidarity. The Washington Post , then owned by Graham Holdings , had called some of SDUSA's former members neoconservatives . Justin Vaisse listed five SDUSA associates as "second-generation neoconservatives" and "so-called Shachtmanites", including "Penn Kemble, Joshua Muravchik,   ... and Bayard Rustin". Throughout his life, Penn Kemble called himself

2747-454: The group to "work enthusiastically" for the election of the pair in November. The organization took a less assertive approach during the divisive 1980 campaign, marked as it was by a heated primary challenge to President Carter by Senator Edward Kennedy and SDUSA chose not to hold its biannual convention until after the termination of the fall campaign. The election of conservative Ronald Reagan

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2814-585: The group’s failure to enthusiastically support George McGovern and because of its views on the Vietnam War ". In its 1972 Convention, the SPA had two Co-Chairmen, Bayard Rustin and Charles S. Zimmerman of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU); and a First National Vice Chairman, James S. Glaser, who were re-elected by acclamation. In his opening speech to the Convention, Co-Chairman Bayard Rustin called for SDUSA to organize against

2881-405: The independent labor-union of Poland. The organizer of the AFL–CIO's support for Solidarity, SDUSA's Tom Kahn, criticized Jeane Kirkpatrick 's Dictatorships and Double Standards , arguing that democracy should be promoted even in the countries dominated by Soviet Communism. In 1981, leading Social Democrats and some moderate Republicans wanted to use economic aid to Poland as leverage to expand

2948-531: The myth has traveled so far, let me briefly try once more, as I have done at greater length in the past, to set the record straight.[See "The Neoconservative Cabal," Commentary , September 2003] The alleged connective chain is broken at every link. The falsity of its more recent elements is readily ascertainable by anyone who cares for the truth—namely, that George Bush was never a neoconservative and that most neoconservatives were never YPSL's. The earlier connections are more obscure but no less false. Although Shachtman

3015-406: The name "Party" was "misleading" and hindered the recruiting of activists who participated in the Democratic Party, according to the majority report. The name "Socialist" was replaced by " Social Democrats " because many American associated the word " socialism " with Soviet communism . Moreover, the organization sought to distinguish itself from two small Marxist parties. This article about

3082-777: The political opposition. After the withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam and the victory of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Viet Cong , SDUSA supported humanitarian assistance to refugees and condemned Senator McGovern for his failure to support such assistance. SDUSA was governed by biannual conventions which invited the participation of interested observers. These gatherings featured discussions and debates over proposed resolutions, some of which were adopted as organizational statements. The group frequently made use of outside speakers at these events: non-SDUSA intellectuals ranged from neoconservatives like Jeane Kirkpatrick on

3149-500: The position of the urban black working class, particularly in the Northern United States. The needs of the black community demanded a shift in political strategy, where blacks would need to strengthen their political alliance with mostly white unions and other organizations (churches, synagogues and the like) to pursue a common economic agenda. It was time to move from protest to politics, wrote Rustin. A particular danger facing

3216-458: The program called for "firmness toward Communist aggression". However, on the Vietnam War the program opposed "any efforts to bomb Hanoi into submission" and instead it endorsed negotiating a peace agreement, which should protect communist political cadres in South Vietnam from further military or police reprisals. Harrington's proposal for a ceasefire and immediate withdrawal of American forces

3283-430: The right to democratic socialists like Paul Berman on the left and similarly a range of academic, political and labor-union leaders were invited. These meetings also functioned as reunions for political activists and intellectuals, some of whom worked together for decades. SDUSA also published a newsletter and occasional position papers, issued statements supporting labor unions and workers' interests at home and overseas,

3350-400: The role of the American labor movement in advancing civil rights and economic justice . The domestic program followed the recommendations of Rustin's article "From Protest to Politics" in which Rustin analyzed the changing economy and its implications for African Americans. Rustin wrote that the rise of automation would reduce the demand for low-skill high-paying jobs, which would jeopardize

3417-408: The tabloid-sized newspaper New America . The dues rate was $ 25 per year in 1983. Following the death of the organization's Notesonline editor Penn Kemble of cancer on October 15, 2005, SDUSA lapsed into a state of organizational hiatus, with no further issues of the online newsletter produced or updates to the group's website made. Following several years of inactivity, an attempt

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3484-530: The term "party" in their name. SDUSA, which was fiercely anti-communist , pursued a strategy of political realignment intended to organize labor unions, civil rights organizations and other constituencies into a coalition that would transform the Democratic Party into a social democratic party. The realignment strategy emphasized working with unions and especially the AFL–CIO , putting an emphasis on economic issues that would unite working class voters. SDUSA opposed

3551-406: The traditional Marxist vision of a marketless, stateless society was impossible, he did not understand why this had to "result in the social consequence of some people eating while others starve". Before the Soviet Union's collapse, the DSA voiced opposition to that nation's bureaucratically managed economy and control over its satellite states . The DSA welcomed Mikhail Gorbachev 's reforms in

3618-601: The traditions and theories of "the largely Jewish-American Trotskyist movement [in Lind's words]" was criticized in 2003 by University of Michigan professor Alan M. Wald, who had discussed Trotskyism in his history of " the New York intellectuals ". SDUSA and allegations that "Trotskyists" subverted Bush's foreign policy have been mentioned by "self-styled" paleoconservatives ( conservative opponents of neoconservatism ). Harrington and Tom Kahn had been associated with Max Shachtman ,

3685-585: Was a "left wing of the possible within the Democratic Party." Harrington served as the first editor of New America , the official weekly newspaper of the Socialist Party-Social Democratic Federation, founded in October 1960. In 1962, he published The Other America : Poverty in the United States , a book that has been credited with sparking John F. Kennedy 's and Lyndon Johnson 's War on Poverty . For The Other America , Harrington

3752-646: Was a classmate (class of 1944) of Thomas Anthony Dooley III . He attended the College of the Holy Cross , where he obtained his B.A., and later graduated from the University of Chicago with an M.A. in English literature. Harrington also attended Yale Law School , dropping out after one year. As a young man, Harrington was interested in both leftist politics and Catholicism . He joined Dorothy Day 's Catholic Worker Movement ,

3819-424: Was a democrat with a small "d". [....] The Democratic Socialists envision a humane social order based on popular control of resources and production, economic planning, equitable distribution, feminism and racial equality. I share an immediate program with liberals in this country because the best liberalism leads toward socialism. [....] I want to be on the left wing of the possible. Harrington made clear that even if

3886-586: Was accompanied by an increasing interest in Marxism and secular socialism. After leaving The Catholic Worker , Harrington became a member of the Independent Socialist League (ISL), a small organization associated with the former Trotskyist activist Max Shachtman . Harrington and Shachtman believed that socialism, which they believed implied a just and fully democratic society, could not be realized by authoritarian communism, and were fiercely critical of

3953-430: Was added to the master list of Nixon political opponents . After Norman Thomas 's Socialist Party absorbed Shachtman's ISL in 1957, Harrington endorsed Shachtman's strategy of working as part of the Democratic Party rather than sponsoring candidates as Socialists. Although Harrington identified personally with the socialism of Thomas and Eugene Debs , the most consistent thread running through his life and his work

4020-553: Was an American democratic socialist . As a writer, he was best known as the author of The Other America . Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, professor of political science, and radio commentator. He was a founding member of the Democratic Socialists of America , and its most influential early leader. Harrington was born in St. Louis, Missouri , on February 24, 1928, to an Irish-American family. He attended St. Roch Catholic School and St. Louis University High School , where he

4087-558: Was awarded a George Polk Award and The Sidney Award . He became a widely read intellectual and political writer, in 1972 publishing a second bestseller, Socialism. His voluminous writings included 14 other books and scores of articles, published in such journals as Commonweal , Partisan Review , The New Republic , Commentary , and The Nation . Harrington often debated classical liberals/libertarians like Milton Friedman and conservatives like William F. Buckley Jr. He also debated younger left-wing radicals. Harrington

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4154-477: Was chalked up to the failure of the Democrats to "appeal to their traditional working class constituency". Early in 1980, long-time National Director Carl Gershman resigned his position to be replaced by Rita Freedman . Freedman previously had served as organizer and chair of SDUSA's key New York local. SDUSA dues were paid annually in advance, with members receiving a copy of the organization's official organ,

4221-463: Was defeated. Harrington complained that after its convention the SPA had endorsed George McGovern only with a statement loaded with "constructive criticism" and that it had not mobilized enough support for McGovern. The majority caucus's Arch Puddington replied that the California branch was especially active in supporting McGovern while the New York branch were focusing on a congressional race. When

4288-537: Was married to Stephanie Gervis Harrington, a freelance writer and staff writer for the Village Voice . Gervis Harrington published articles in The New Yorker , New York Magazine , The Nation , The New York Times Magazine , Harper's , The New Republic , The Village Voice , Vogue , Cosmopolitan , Newsday and other publications. After Harrington's death, she raised their two children and continued her work as

4355-465: Was one of the elder statesmen who occasionally made stirring speeches to us, no YPSL of my generation was a Shachtmanite. What is more, our mentors, Paul and Tom, had come under Shachtman’s sway years after he himself had ceased to be a Trotskyite. Michael Harrington Progressive Era Repression and persecution Anti-war and civil rights movements Contemporary Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989)

4422-520: Was present in June 1962 at the founding conference of Students for a Democratic Society . In clashes with Tom Hayden and Alan Haber , he argued that their Port Huron Statement was insufficiently explicit about excluding communists from their vision of a New Left . Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. called Harrington the "only responsible radical" in America. Ted Kennedy said, "I see Michael Harrington as delivering

4489-482: Was subsequently made to revive SDUSA. In 2008, a group composed initially mostly of Pennsylvania members of SDUSA emerged, determined to re-launch the organization. A re-founding convention of the SDUSA was held May 3, 2009, at which a National Executive Committee was elected. Owing to factional disagreements, a group based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and the newly elected National Executive Committee parted company, with

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