Victorious Victors?: SDS and The Port Huron Statement

By Jason Colella Co-Owner and Sr. Political Editor of FPP

The Students for a Democratic Society’s (SDS) Manifesto, the Port Huron Statement, is celebrating its 50th anniversary; and consequently, the University of Michigan just wrapped a two day conference talking about the statement then and its implication for today. It helped define and frame an entire era, student movement, the New Left itself, and to some extent conservatives. The Statement was born out of SDS which was founded by Al Harbor in 1960 in Ann Arbor. By 1962, it was a major Student Org on campus and by 1962 it was headed up by the editor of the Michigan Daily – Tom Hayden. Hayden was a well-spoken radical with infinite passion for social justice and a sincere desire for societal change. Earlier that year the preeminent student civil rights origination Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) approached SDS to help write a manifesto for the movement still in its infancy and it was decided that Hayden should draft the document. The draft was then brought to an SDS convention in Port Huron, Michigan where it was edited section by section by groups. This very process showcased the overarching point of the statement itself – participatory democracy. Hayden then edited it into a final copy.