Social-Democratic Party of America

The Social Democratic Party was established in 1898 as a result of a split in the Social Democracy of America (SDA). Organized by Eugene V. Debs on 15 June 1897, the SDA consisted of members from the American Railway Union and the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth. Shortly after its inception, SDA split between the 'colonizationalists' who supported DEbs' scheme to form a socialist sate in one of the states of the union; and the 'political wing' which emphasized a concrete program of political action for the Social Democracy. During the 1898 convention the political group withdrew from the organization after the colonizationists' program was adopted by the delegates. After bolting the convention, the political group, led by Victor Berger, established the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The SDP was a class conscious, revolutionary, social organization that demanded the initiative and referendum, a public works program to help reduce unemployment, a system of collective production and distribution, a national insurance plan, and the abolition of war as it pertained to the United States. The first National convention in 1900 had more than 4500 members with 226 branches in 25 states. At the convention, the moderate wing of the Socialist Labor Party (headquartered in Rochester, New York) proposed a merger of the two organizations. Both groups supported Debs for president and Harriman for vice president.

In 1901 this faction of the Socialist Labor Party merged with the Social Democrats forming the Socialist Party of America.

From the description of Records, 1900-1905. (New York University). WorldCat record id: 17269441

The Social Democratic Party was established in 1898 as a result of the fractious in fighting between two major groups in the short lived Social Democracy of America. Organized by Eugene V. Debs on 15 June 1897, the Social Democracy of America consisted of members from the American Railway Union and the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth. Shortly after its inception, the Social Democracy was confronted with a major split in its ranks. The split occurred between the following two factions: (1) the "colonizationalists" who supported Debs' scheme to form a socialist state in "one of the states of the Union"; and (2) the "political wing" which emphasized a concrete program of political action for the Social Democracy. The controversy lasted for one year before reaching a climax at the second national convention of the Social Democracy in June 1898. During this convention, the political group withdrew from the organization after the colonizationists' program was adopted by the delegates.

After bolting the convention, the political group, led by Victor Berger, held their own meeting and established the Social Democratic Party. From the viewpoint of its membership, the Social Democratic Party was "a class conscious, revolutionary, social organization." In its platform, the party demanded the initiative and referendum, a public works program to help reduce unemployment, a system of collective production and distribution, a national insurance plan, and the abolition of war as it pertained to the United States.

The Social Democratic Party achieved some local successes after its formation. During the 1898 elections, the party elected a mayor in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and sent two socialists to the Massachusetts state legislature. In 1899, independent socialist organizations from Texas and Iowa merged with the Social Democrats. When the party met in its first national convention in March 1900 at Indianapolis, it had more than 4500 members with 226 branches in 25 states.

At the Indianapolis convention, the moderate wing of the Socialist Labor Party, which had recently established an independent headquarters in Rochester, New York, attended the sessions and proposed a merger between the two organizations. The former Socialist Labor Party members, known as the "Kangaroos", had already nominated Job Harriman for President and Max Hayes for Vice President, but they offered to withdraw Harriman's name if they could select the Vice Presidential candidate on a joint ticket. Many of the rank and file Social Democrats supported the merger, but the party leadership was highly reluctant to join with socialists who had only recently disassociated themselves from the powerful rule of Daniel De Leon. For the next several months, the leaders of both organizations met on several occasions to negotiate a merger.

During these meetings, accusations and charges were made by both sides on issues ranging from the Presidential ticket to the new name for the party. Because of this bickering, negotiations toward eventual merger were unsuccessful, but both groups did agree to support Debs for President and Harriman for Vice President.

As public interest in the Debs' campaign increased, the rivalry between the two organizations subsided. This cooperation proved to be quite useful for the Social Democrats because it enabled its members to secure additional support for the Debs Harriman ticket. On Election Day, these efforts were rewarded as Debs received nearly 97,000 votes as compared with only 34,000 votes for De Leon's Socialist Labor Party ticket. Due to the outcome of the election, the Kangaroos and the Social Democrats were more willing to work together on the merger issue. Finally, at the second Unity Convention in Indianapolis in 1901, the Kangaroos merged with the Social Democrats and thus established the Socialist Party of America.

From the guide to the Social-Democratic Party of America Records, 1900-1905, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)