Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and economic justice through

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting progressive candidates.

History

Formation

The ADA grew out of a predecessor group, the Union for Democratic Action (UDA). The UDA was formed by former members of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

and the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies as well as

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leaders, liberal politicians, theologians, and others who were opposed to the

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...

adopted by most left-wing political organizations in the late 1930s and early 1940s.Brock, ''Americans for Democratic Action: Its Role in National Politics'', 1962, p. 49. It supported an interventionist, internationalist foreign policy and a pro- union, liberal domestic policy. It was also strongly

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

.Powers, ''Not Without Honor: The History of American Anticommunism'', 1998, pp. 200–201, . It undertook a major effort to support left-wing Democratic members of Congress in 1946, but this effort was an overwhelming failure.Davis, ''The Civil Rights Movement'', 2000, p. 27, . James Isaac Loeb – later an

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and diplomat in the John F. Kennedy administration – the UDA's executive director, advocated disbanding the UDA and forming a new, more broadly based, mass-membership organization. Beinart, ''The Good Fight: Why Liberals—and Only Liberals—Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again'', 2007, p. 4, .Libros, ''Hard Core Liberals: A Sociological Analysis of the Philadelphia Americans for Democratic Action'', 1975, p. 22, . The ADA was formed on January 3, 1947, and the UDA shuttered. Among ADA's founding members were leading anti-communist liberals from academic, political, and labor circles, including theologian

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...

, historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.,

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

, union leader Walter Reuther, civil rights lawyer Joseph Rauh, and Hubert Humphrey. Its founders hoped to solidify a progressive, pragmatic, noncommunist "vital center" in mainstream politics, embodying Schlesinger's concept formulated in his 1949 book ''

The Vital Center ''The Vital Center: The Politics of Freedom'' is a 1949 book by Harvard historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. It defends liberal democracy and a state-regulated market economy against the totalitarianism of communism and fascism. Summary Schlesin ...

''.Mark L. Kleinman, "Americans for Democratic Action", in ''The Oxford Companion to United States History'', ed. Paul S. Boyer (Oxford/NY: Oxford UP, 2001), 34.

Action

On April 3, 1948, ADA declared its decision to support a Democratic Party ticket of General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Supreme Court Judge William O. Douglas over incumbent U.S. President Harry S. Truman. Truman lacked popular support, and the ADA succeeded in pushing Truman leftward on issues such as

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

. It also led a full-scale attack on Progressive Party candidate and former US

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Henry A. Wallace because of his opposition to the Marshall Plan and support for a more conciliatory relationship with the Soviet Union. The ADA portrayed Wallace and his supporters as dupes of the Communist Party. Adolf A. Berle Jr. and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. believed that Eisenhower would accept the nomination. He did not. ADA supported Truman after his victory in the 1948 election. Although anti-communist, unlike other contemporary liberal groups like the Progressive Citizens of America (PCA), which supported cooperation with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, the ADA was still subject to significant McCarthyist scrutiny. The plight of the ADA during that period prompted

to accept a position as honorary chair of the organization in 1953, and in doing so, put Senator McCarthy in a position in which he would have had to "call her a communist as well" to continue his inquiries into the activities of the group. Because of her actions, many ADA leaders credited her with saving the organization. In the early 1960s, ADA's influence peaked when a number of its key members (e.g. James Loeb, Arthur Schlesinger Jr.) were picked to join the administration of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. While active in liberal causes ranging from civil rights to Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society reforms, by the mid-1960s the ADA's influence was on the wane. It was badly split over the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

: initially supporting Johnson's war policy, the ADA had come to oppose the war by early 1968. It endorsed founder Hubert Humphrey's presidential candidacy that year, but with "barely concealed ambivalence". After Richard Nixon's victory, the ADA was pushed to the political margins, overshadowed by more centrist groups like the Trilateral Commission and

Coalition for a Democratic Majority A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

Leadership

Founders

Prominent founding members included: * Joseph Alsop * Stewart Alsop * Chester Bowles * Marquis Childs * David Dubinsky * Elmer Davis *

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...

* Leon Henderson * Hubert Humphrey * James I. Loeb *

* Joseph P. Lash * Joseph L. Rauh Jr. * Walter Reuther *

* Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. * Arthur Schlesinger Jr. * John H. Sengstacke *

James Wechsler James Arthur Wechsler (October 31, 1915 – September 11, 1983) was an American journalist who worked as a newspaper columnist, Washington bureau chief, editor-in-chief, and editorial page editor of The ''New York Post''. He was a prominent vo ...

* Walter White * Wilson W. Wyatt In April 1948 at New York state convention, ADA elected the following new officers: Jonathan Bingham of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

as chairman with vice chairmen Dr. William Lehman of Syracuse, Benjamin McLaurin of New York City, Howard Linsay of New York City, Jack Rubenstein ( Textile Workers Union, CIO), and Charles Zimmerman ( International Ladies' Garment Workers Union).

Chairs and presidents

Since 1947, ADA's leaders have been: * 1947–1948: Wilson Wyatt * 1948–1949: Leon Henderson * 1949–1950: Senator Hubert Humphrey * 1950–1953: Francis Biddle * 1954–1955: Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and James E. Doyle (co-chairs) * 1955–1957: Joseph L. Rauh Jr. * 1957–1959: Robert R. Nathan * 1959–1962: Samuel H. Beer * 1961–1964: Paul Seabury * 1962–1965:
John P. Roche
* 1965–1967: Rep. Don Edwards * 1967–1969: John Kenneth Galbraith * 1970–1971: Joseph Duffey * 1971–1973: Rep. Allard K. Lowenstein * 1974–1976: Rep. Donald M. Fraser * 1976–1978: Senator George McGovern * 1978–1981: Rep. Patsy T. Mink * 1981–1984: The Rev. Robert F. Drinan, S.J. * 1984–1986: Rep. Barney Frank * 1986–1989: Rep. Ted Weiss * 1989–1991: Rep. Charles B. Rangel * 1991–1993: Senator Paul D. Wellstone * 1993–1995: Rep. John Lewis * 1995–1998: Jack Sheinkman * 1998–2000: Rep. Jim Jontz * 2000–2008: Rep. Jim McDermott * 2008–2010: Richard Parker * 2010–2016: Rep. Lynn Woolsey * 2017–2018: State Senator Daylin Leach * 2018–: State Senator Art Haywood

Voting records

ADA ranks legislators, identifies key policy issues, and tracks how members of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

vote on these issues. The annual ADA Voting Record gives each member a Liberal Quotient (LQ) rating from 0, meaning complete disagreement with ADA policies, to 100, meaning complete agreement with ADA policies. A score of 0 is considered

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and a score 100 is considered liberal. The LQ is obtained by evaluating an elected official's votes on 20 key foreign and domestic social and economic issues chosen by the ADA's Legislative Committee. Each vote given a score of either 5 or 0 points, depending on whether the individual voted with or against the ADA's position, respectively. Absent voters are also given a score of 0 for the vote.

References

External links

*
Americans for Democratic Action records, 1932–1999
{{DEFAULTSORT:Americans for Democratic Action Anti-communist organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1947 Political advocacy groups in the United States Liberalism in the United States 1947 establishments in the United States Walter Reuther