# 1934 Declaration of Principles
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{{Infobox document
|document_name = 1934 Declaration of Principles
|italic_title =
|image =
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|image_caption =
|date_created = 1934
|date_ratified = 1934
|location_of_document = Detroit
|writer = [Militant faction](/source/Militant_faction)
|signers = [Devere Allen](/source/Devere_Allen)
|purpose =
|wikisource =
}}
The '''1934 Declaration of Principles''' was a [political platform](/source/political_platform) of the [Militant faction](/source/Militant_faction) passed at the [Socialist Party of America](/source/Socialist_Party_of_America) (SPA) May 1934 National Convention held in [Detroit](/source/Detroit), [Michigan](/source/Michigan). The document committed the organization to "refuse collectively to sanction or support any international war" and condemned the "bogus democracy of capitalist [parliamentarism](/source/parliamentarism)" in favor of establishment of a "genuine workers' democracy." The 1934 Declaration of Principles was instrumental in causing a split of the SPA, with its so-called ["Old Guard" faction](/source/Old_Guard_faction) exiting the organization en masse to establish a rival organization, the [Social Democratic Federation](/source/Social_Democratic_Federation_(U.S.)), in 1936.
==History==
The chief author of the 1934 Declaration of Principles was [Devere Allen](/source/Devere_Allen), a [pacifist](/source/pacifist) follower of Socialist Party leader [Norman Thomas](/source/Norman_Thomas) from [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut).[Brad Bennett, "Devere Allen (1891-1955)," in Roger S. Powers, et al. (eds.), ''Protest, Power, and Change: An Encyclopedia of Nonviolent Action from ACT-UP to Women's Suffrage.'' London: Routledge, 1997; pp. ??.] It was vocally supported by the party's organized ["Militant" faction](/source/Militant_faction).
In closing the debate at the convention, New York "Old Guard" leader [Louis Waldman](/source/Louis_Waldman) railed against adoption of the Declaration of Principles:
"I warn against these dangerous, provocative proposals, which will lead the party to ruin. They are [anarchist](/source/anarchist)ic, illegal, [Communist](/source/communism) doctrine. This is a wild, irresponsible declaration."[Louis Waldman, ''The Good Fight: A Quest for Social Progress.'' Philadelphia: Dorrance & Co., 1975; pg. 219.]
Then Norman Thomas went forward to close the debate in favor of adoption of the new declaration. Waldman recalls:
"When Thomas rose, he received a great ovation from the Militants, but he was pale and nervous. He had been maneuvered into a position inconsistent with his long time stance as a social [reform](/source/reform)er. He was ill-suited to be a leader of a [revolution](/source/revolution)ary movement committed to violence and dictatorship. I considered him more a captive than a leader. While I felt that the leadership and encouragement he had given the Militants had helped bring the party to the brink of disaster, if not past it, I was nevertheless sympathetic to a man who had been cast in a role so alien to his past.
"But he had passed the point of no return. He rejoiced in the declaration, he said. He praised Allen. As a pacifist, he had little difficulty in making a general and eloquent statement about the horror of war, which he condemned. When he got to the question of seizure of power and the imposition of a dictatorship, he seemed lost. He declared that [Fascism](/source/Fascism), which he said the declaration clearly implied was now at hand, 'left the Socialist Party no alternative but to seize power whether or not it had a majority."[Waldman, ''The Good Fight:,'' pp. 219-220.]
The 1934 Declaration of Principles was approved at the Detroit convention by a vote of delegates representing 10,882 members in favor, and delegates representing 6,512 opposed.[Waldman, ''The Good Fight:,'' pg. 220.]
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web|title=Vote "yes" : Socialist Party members, vote "yes" in the referendum on the "Declaration of principles" |location=New York, NY |publisher=[Revolutionary Policy Committee](/source/Revolutionary_Policy_Committee_(U.S.)) |date=23 October 2016 |url=https://archive.org/details/VoteyesSocialistPartyMembersVoteyesInTheReferendumOnThe}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Cannon |first=James P. |date=9 June 1934 |title=Socialist Party Adopts "Militant" Position at Detroit National Convention |work=The Militant |volume=VII |number=23 |p=1, 3 |url=http://marxists.anu.edu.au/archive/cannon/works/1934/jun/adopts.htm}}
* {{cite book | last=Seidler | first=M.B. | title=Norman Thomas: Respectable Rebel | publisher=Syracuse University Press | series=Men and movements series | year=1961 | url=https://archive.org/details/normanthomas00seid/page/124 | chapter=Fratricidal Warfare}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
*https://digitalcollections.lib.uh.edu/concern/texts/s7526d85w?locale=en
Category:History of the Socialist Party of America
Category:1934 in Michigan
Category:1934 in American politics
Category:Socialism in Michigan
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [1934 Declaration of Principles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_Declaration_of_Principles) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_Declaration_of_Principles?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.