The Union for Democratic Action (UDA) was an American
political organization advocating
liberal policies and the preservation and extension of
democratic values domestically and overseas.[1][2] It existed from 1941 to 1947, and was the precursor organization to the group
Americans for Democratic Action.
Niebuhr was the organization's first and only chairperson.[4] Loeb was its executive director.[7]
The organization was widely quoted; its members often held influential positions in the presidential administration of
Franklin D. Roosevelt, and it strongly supported the
Lend-Lease arms supply program.[8] In 1945, the UDA distributed 1 million copies of a cartoon pamphlet in support of the
Dumbarton Oaks proposals for an international organization that would become the United Nations.[9][10]
But it was financially very weak and had only a handful of low-membership chapters on the
East Coast.[2][6][8] It had only one active chapter in 1944[2] and a mere 5,000 members in 1946.[11] The organization was politically astute, however. It pioneered the use of the voting records of members of
Congress as a means of swaying public opinion for or against its favored candidates.[8]
The UDA undertook a major effort to support left-wing
Democratic candidates for Congress in 1946.[7][12][13] The defeat of a large number of Democrats in the 1946 elections prompted Loeb to advocate UDA's disbanding and the formation of a new, more broadly based, mass-membership organization.[11][14] The Americans for Democratic Action was formed on January 4, 1947, and the UDA shuttered.[12][14][15]
Footnotes
^
abZuckerman, The Wine of Violence: An Anthology on Anti-Semitism, 1947, p. 220.
^
abcdeBoyle, The UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism, 1945-1968, 1998, p. 49.
^
abBrock, Americans for Democratic Action: Its Role in National Politics, 1962, p. 49; Parmet, The Master of Seventh Avenue: David Dubinsky and the American Labor Movement, 2005, p. 214.
^
abBrown, Niebuhr and His Age: Reinhold Niebuhr's Prophetic Role and Legacy, 2002, p. 102.
^
abCeplair, "The Film Industry's Battle Against Left-Wing Influences, From the Russian Revolution to the Blacklist," Film History, 2008, 400-401.
^
abLibros, Hard Core Liberals: A Sociological Analysis of the Philadelphia Americans for Democratic Action, 1975, p. 13.
^
abcPowers, Not Without Honor: The History of American Anticommunism, 1998, p. 200-201.
^
abcBrown, Niebuhr and His Age: Reinhold Niebuhr's Prophetic Role and Legacy, 2002, p. 103.
^Schlesinger, Stephen 2003. Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations Basic Books. p. 84.
^
abBeinart, The Good Fight: Why Liberals—and Only Liberals—Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again, 2007, p. 4.
^
abDavis, The Civil Rights Movement, 2000, p. 27.
^Halpern, UAW Politics in the Cold War Era, 1988, p. 138-139.
^
abLibros, Hard Core Liberals: A Sociological Analysis of the Philadelphia Americans for Democratic Action, 1975, p. 22.
^Hambly, "The Liberals, Truman, and the FDR as Symbol and Myth," The Journal of American History, March 1970; Heale, American Anticommunism: Combating the Enemy Within, 1830-1970, 1990, p. 140.
Bibliography
Beinart, Peter. The Good Fight: Why Liberals—and Only Liberals—Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again. Carlton, Victoria, Australia: Melbourne University Press, 2007.
Boyle, Kevin. The UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism, 1945-1968. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1998.
Brock, Clifton. Americans for Democratic Action: Its Role in National Politics. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1962.
Brown, Charles C. Niebuhr and His Age: Reinhold Niebuhr's Prophetic Role and Legacy. Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 2002.
Ceplair, Larry. "The Film Industry's Battle Against Left-Wing Influences, From the Russian Revolution to the Blacklist." Film History. 2008: 399-411.
Davis, Jack E. The Civil Rights Movement. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2000.
Halpern, Martin. UAW Politics in the Cold War Era. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1988.
Hambly, Alonzo L. "The Liberals, Truman, and the FDR as Symbol and Myth." The Journal of American History. 56:4 (March 1970).
Heale, M.J. American Anticommunism: Combating the Enemy Within, 1830-1970. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.
Libros, Hal. Hard Core Liberals: A Sociological Analysis of the Philadelphia Americans for Democratic Action. Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing Co., 1975.
Parmet, Robert D. The Master of Seventh Avenue: David Dubinsky and the American Labor Movement. New York: New York University Press, 2005.
Powers, Richard Gid. Not Without Honor: The History of American Anticommunism. New Haven, Con..: Yale University Press, 1998.
Zuckerman, Nathan. The Wine of Violence: An Anthology on Anti-Semitism. New York, Association Press, 1947.