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[[File:Sdsorgchart.JPG|thumb|475px|right|Organizational chart of the SDS prepared for Congressional Investigators by the FBI.]]

[[File:Sdsorgchart.JPG|thumb|475px|right|Organizational chart of the SDS prepared for Congressional Investigators by the FBI.]]

'''Students for a Democratic Society''' was founded by  

'''Students for a Democratic Society''' was founded by  

[[Aryeh Neier]] (Director of the socialist [[League for Industrial Democracy]])<ref>[http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/marxism/2000w09/msg00138.htm The birth of the "New Left"?], email discussion March 2000. </ref> in 1960. Its principles were elaborated by [[Tom Hayden]] in his [[Port Huron Statement]] of 1962, which adopted the position of "anti-[[anti-Communism]]," refusing to support the West in the [[Cold War]].<ref> [http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6723 SDS, Discoverthenetworks.org]</ref> What began as a movement to involve the largest possible number of American students in the democratic processes had become by 1969, as a contemporaneous FBI memo reports, "an organization totally dedicated to the destruction of American society...In the span of seven years, the SDS had evolved into a hard line Marxist-Leninist-Maoist organization dedicated to the destruction of Western democratic traditions and ideals."<ref>Foreign Influence - Weather Underground Organization (WUO). FBI Chicago Field Office Report, August 20, 1976. Section D. [http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1b.pdf ''Influence of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought''], Page 56 in original (p. 19 pdf).</ref>

[[Aryeh Neier]] (Director of the socialist [[League for Industrial Democracy]])<ref>[http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/marxism/2000w09/msg00138.htm The birth of the "New Left"?], email discussion March 2000. </ref> in 1960. Its principles were elaborated by [[Tom Hayden]] in his [[Port Huron Statement]] of 1962, which adopted the position of "anti-[[anti-Communism]]," refusing to support the West in the [[Cold War]].<ref> [http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6723 SDS, Discoverthenetworks.org]</ref> What began as a movement to involve the largest possible number of American students in the democratic processes had become by 1969, as a contemporaneous FBI memo reports, "an organization totally dedicated to the destruction of American society...In the span of seven years, the SDS had evolved into a hard line Marxist-Leninist-Maoist organization dedicated to the destruction of Western democratic traditions and ideals."<ref>Foreign Influence - Weather Underground Organization (WUO). FBI Chicago Field Office Report, August 20, 1976. Section D. [http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1b.pdf ''Influence of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought''], Page 56 in original (p. 19 pdf).</ref>

Several prominent SDS members organized [[Progressives for Obama]] in May of 2008. Among the organizers are [[Carl Davidson]], [[Mark Rudd]], and [[Todd Gitlin]]; while several Klonsky family members are represented, [[Mike Klonsky]] is conspicously absent from the signers. <ref>[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080407/hayden_et_al/print Progressives for Obama], By Tom Hayden, Bill Fletcher Jr., Danny Glover & Barbara Ehrenreich, ''The Nation'', March 24, 2008.</ref><ref>Foreign Influence - Weather Underground Organization (WUO). FBI Chicago Field Office Report, August 20, 1976. Section D. ''Influence of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought'', Page 58 in original (p. 21 pdf).</ref>

Several prominent SDS members organized [[Progressives for Obama]] in March of 2008. Among the organizers are [[Carl Davidson]], [[Mark Rudd]], and [[Todd Gitlin]]; while several Klonsky family members are represented, [[Mike Klonsky]] is conspicously absent from the signers. <ref>[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080407/hayden_et_al/print Progressives for Obama], By Tom Hayden, Bill Fletcher Jr., Danny Glover & Barbara Ehrenreich, ''The Nation'', March 24, 2008.</ref><ref>Foreign Influence - Weather Underground Organization (WUO). FBI Chicago Field Office Report, August 20, 1976. Section D. ''Influence of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought'', Page 58 in original (p. 21 pdf).</ref>

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All factions present at the SDS National Convention held in Chicago in June 1969 adhered to the general over-all line of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) and the Chinese world view that attributed the source of global conflict from tension between the colonial and former colonial peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America on the one hand, and the forces of imperialism led by United States imperialism on the other." The unfolding of the conflict between the [[national liberation movement]] of the [[Viet Cong]] and forces of United States imperialism and its puppet regime in [[Saigon]] would provide an example for peoples of the Third World to unite in the defeat of US imperialism and the establishment of a "world socialist order."

All factions present at the SDS National Convention held in Chicago in June 1969 adhered to the general over-all line of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) and the Chinese world view that attributed the source of global conflict from tension between the colonial and former colonial peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America on the one hand, and the forces of imperialism led by United States imperialism on the other." The unfolding of the conflict between the [[national liberation movement]] of the [[Viet Cong]] and forces of United States imperialism and its puppet regime in [[Saigon]] would provide an example for peoples of the Third World to unite in the defeat of US imperialism and the establishment of a "world socialist order."

This contrasted sharply with the traditional orthodox view of [[Moscow]] which relied heavily on a dialectical "force of history" that would inevitably bring about the "objective conditions" necessary for a proletarian revolution to succeed. Traditional Soviet theoriticians regarded any concept that skipped stages of historic development as dangerous and "counter revolutionary."<ref>Foreign Influence - Weather Underground Organization (WUO). FBI Chicago Field Office Report, August 20, 1976. Section D., ''Influence of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought'', Pages 56-57 in original (pp. 19-20 pdf).</ref>

This contrasted sharply with the traditional orthodox view of [[Moscow]] which relied heavily on a dialectical "force of history" that would inevitably bring about the "objective conditions" necessary for a proletarian revolution to succeed. Traditional Soviet theoriticians regarded any concept that skipped stages of historic development as dangerous and "counter revolutionary."<ref>Foreign Influence - Weather Underground Organization (WUO). FBI Chicago Field Office Report, August 20, 1976. Section D. ''Influence of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought'', Pages 56-57 in original (pp. 19-20 pdf).</ref>

The main point of contention centered on the role of black Americans in the revolutionary processes in the United States. Many held the view that a Vietnam style war within the United States between the black "colony" and the white imperialist super-structure was inevitable.  Many were fond of quoting Chaiman Mao who wrote, "In the final analysis a national struggle is a class struggle."  There was a great deal of competition among the warring factions to portray themselves as the main purveyors of [[Mao Zedong]] Thought in the United States revolutionary movement.

The main point of contention centered on the role of black Americans in the revolutionary processes in the United States. Many held the view that a Vietnam style war within the United States between the black "colony" and the white imperialist super-structure was inevitable.  Many were fond of quoting Chaiman Mao who wrote, "In the final analysis a national struggle is a class struggle."  There was a great deal of competition among the warring factions to portray themselves as the main purveyors of [[Mao Zedong]] Thought in the United States revolutionary movement.

Other prominent members of SDS were [[Linda Sue Evans]] and [[Dianna Oughton]] who served along with [[Bill Ayers]] on the Ann Arbor Michigan Regional Staff. Evans was involved in the [[John Brown Anti-Klan Committee]] which bombed the U.S Capital building in 1983<ref>[http://nobsopus.blogspot.com/1983/11/armed-resistance-unit-bombs-us-capitol.html "Armed Resistance Unit Bombs US Capitol"], ''Death to the Klan'', Winter, 1984, No.3.</ref> and the [[May 19th Communist Organization]].<ref>John George and Laird Wilcox, ''Nazis, Communists, Klansmen and Others on the Fringe'', Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1992, pg. 158.</ref> Evans was convicted for her role in the holdup of a Brinks armored truck in Nyack, NY, in November 1981 that resulted in the murder of two policemen and a security guard and was later among several terrorists whose sentences were commuted by President [[Bill Clinton]]. Dianna Oughton accidentally blew herself up in an underground terrorist bomb factory in 1970.<ref>[http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/terrorists/brinks/1.html truTV - Crime Library: Terrorists, The Weather Underground & Black Liberation Army]</ref>

Other prominent members of SDS were [[Linda Sue Evans]] and [[Dianna Oughton]] who served along with [[Bill Ayers]] on the Ann Arbor Michigan Regional Staff. Evans was involved in the [[John Brown Anti-Klan Committee]] which bombed the U.S Capital building in 1983<ref>[http://nobsopus.blogspot.com/1983/11/armed-resistance-unit-bombs-us-capitol.html "Armed Resistance Unit Bombs US Capitol"], ''Death to the Klan'', Winter, 1984, No.3.</ref> and the [[May 19th Communist Organization]].<ref>John George and Laird Wilcox, ''Nazis, Communists, Klansmen and Others on the Fringe'', Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1992, pg. 158.</ref> Evans was convicted for her role in the holdup of a Brinks armored truck in Nyack, NY, in November 1981 that resulted in the murder of two policemen and a security guard and was later among several terrorists whose sentences were commuted by President [[Bill Clinton]]. Dianna Oughton accidentally blew herself up in an underground terrorist bomb factory in 1970.<ref>[http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/terrorists/brinks/1.html truTV - Crime Library: Terrorists, The Weather Underground & Black Liberation Army]</ref>

[[Kathy Boudin]],<ref>[http://everything2.com/title/Kathy+Boudin Kathy Boudin]. Retrieved from Everything2.com February 18, 2010.</ref> [[Judy Clark]],<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=SD2TvqDh8EkC&pg=PA204&lpg=PA204&dq=Judy+Clark%2BSDS&source=bl&ots=aPO-rfFbIF&sig=y0abOaa1IgWM1RJ58e05awZLBNU&hl=en&ei=4wZ-S9qIMI7-tQPPoNn8Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Judy%20Clark%2BSDS&f=false ''The way the wind blew: a history of the Weather Underground''] By Ron Jacobs. googlebooks. Retrieved Februafr 18, 2010.</ref> [[David Gilbert]],<ref>[http://www.prisonactivist.org/archive/pps+pows/davidgilbert/sds-wuo.html ''SDS/WUO: Students for a Democratic Society and the Weather Underground''], David Gilbert. Retrieved from the Prison Activist Resource Center website, February 18, 2010.</ref> [[Cathy Wilkerson]],<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF0u2bykMlg Weather Underground Member Cathy Wilkerson], Youtube. Retrieved February 18, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6914 ''“Let’s Have a Meeting:” Cathy Wilkerson on SDS Organizing''], Interviewed by Ron Grele 2/17/85, Columbia University Oral History Collection.</ref> [[Terry Robbins]],<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/nyregion/14about.html?pagewanted=print ''An Infamous Explosion, and the Smoldering Memory of Radicalism''], Jim Dwyer, ''[[New York Times]]'', November 14, 2007.</ref> and [[Ted Gold]]<ref>[http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=mediatype%3Aaudio%20AND%20collection%3Apacifica_radio_archives%20AND%20subject%3A%22Kanter%22 Pacifica Radio Archives]available at the Internet Archives. Retrieved February 18, 2010.</ref> were also prominent organizers.

[[Kathy Boudin]],<ref>[http://everything2.com/title/Kathy+Boudin Kathy Boudin]. Retrieved from Everything2.com February 18, 2010.</ref> [[Judy Clark]],<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=SD2TvqDh8EkC&pg=PA204&lpg=PA204&dq=Judy+Clark%2BSDS&source=bl&ots=aPO-rfFbIF&sig=y0abOaa1IgWM1RJ58e05awZLBNU&hl=en&ei=4wZ-S9qIMI7-tQPPoNn8Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Judy%20Clark%2BSDS&f=false ''The way the wind blew: a history of the Weather Underground''] By Ron Jacobs. googlebooks. Retrieved February 18, 2010.</ref> [[David Gilbert]],<ref>[http://www.prisonactivist.org/archive/pps+pows/davidgilbert/sds-wuo.html ''SDS/WUO: Students for a Democratic Society and the Weather Underground''], David Gilbert. Retrieved from the Prison Activist Resource Center website, February 18, 2010.</ref> [[Cathy Wilkerson]],<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF0u2bykMlg Weather Underground Member Cathy Wilkerson], Youtube. Retrieved February 18, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6914 ''“Let’s Have a Meeting:” Cathy Wilkerson on SDS Organizing''], Interviewed by Ron Grele 2/17/85, Columbia University Oral History Collection.</ref> [[Terry Robbins]],<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/nyregion/14about.html?pagewanted=print ''An Infamous Explosion, and the Smoldering Memory of Radicalism''], Jim Dwyer, ''[[New York Times]]'', November 14, 2007.</ref> and [[Ted Gold]]<ref>[http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=mediatype%3Aaudio%20AND%20collection%3Apacifica_radio_archives%20AND%20subject%3A%22Kanter%22 Pacifica Radio Archives]available at the Internet Archives. Retrieved February 18, 2010.</ref> were also prominent organizers.

==See also==

==See also==