The League for Industrial Democracy (or LID) was founded in 1905 by a group of notable socialists including Jack London and Upton Sinclair. Its original name was the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, and its stated purpose was that of "educating Americans about the need to extend democracy to every aspect of our society." Under its former name, the League focused its efforts on proselytizing to college students about the labor movement, socialism, and industrial democracy; in 1921, it assumed its new name and enlarged its scope to society at large. The SDS grew out of its youth section, the Student League for Industrial Democracy (SLID).
At Port Huron, Tom Hayden clashed with Irving Howe and Michael Harrington, over 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…"
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