Historical Note:
Scope and Contents
Arrangement of Materials:
Conditions Governing Access:
Conditions Governing Use:
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Custodial History:
Preferred Citation:
Processing Information:
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: California Young Democrats Collection
Creator:
Democratic Party (Calif.). California Young Democrats.
Identifier/Call Number: URB.CYD
Extent:
6.48 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1958-1987
Date (bulk): 1962-1971
Abstract: Established in 1938 as the youth
organizing branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California, the California Young
Democrats (CYD) have worked for decades to advance the Democratic Party's initiatives of
progressive change, civil rights, social programs, and diplomacy within the state of
California. CYD focuses on engaging Californians aged 14-35 in government affairs and the
political process, and works to gain lifelong supporters of the Democratic Party's
candidates and platforms. The California Young Democrats Collection documents the
organization's general operations, administrative structure, objectives, programs, and
political activity from 1958-1987 through state-level administrative files and regional
chapter files.
Language of Material: English
Historical Note:
The California Young Democrats (CYD) is the youth organizing branch of the Democratic Party
in the state of California. It serves to motivate Californians aged 14-35 in becoming active
participants in government affairs and the political process, and to gain lifelong
supporters of the Democratic Party's candidates and platforms. CYD is affiliated with the
California Democratic Party and Young Democrats of America, and promotes the ideals and work
of the National Democratic Party. It is comprised of a state headquarters located in
Sacramento, and various chartered Young Democratic Clubs located throughout California. The
organization holds local and state meetings and conventions, conducts fundraising,
disseminates information on local and national political and social issues, participates in
voter registration activities and party recruitment, and holds organizational campaigns and
elections for state and regional CYD leadership. It is active in local, state, and national
campaigns and elections.
Established in the 1930s, CYD has worked for decades to advance the Democratic Party's
initiatives of progressive change, civil rights, social programs, and diplomacy. During the
1960s and 1970s, the organization actively promoted these ideals. On the national front, CYD
openly opposed the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War and explicitly called for
the nation's withdrawal from the conflict. Furthermore, the organization condemned President
Lyndon Johnson's war policy, refused to support the Party's 1968 Presidential nominee Hubert
H. Humphrey for his lack of opposition to the war, and opposed the draft.
CYD were also staunch supporters of a host of other issues. Members supported the Civil
Rights Movement, and lent Robert Kennedy its support in efforts to end discrimination in the
United States in all its forms and manifestations. It also denounced supporters of
segregation, including Democratic Governor and Presidential candidate George Wallace.
Locally, CYD advocated for social and educational programs and the alleviation of urban
poverty, witnessed the strife of California grape growers and the formation of the National
Farm Workers Association, and rallied against the proliferation of nuclear reactors in
California. Still active today, CYD serves as a training ground for California's youth to
become political leaders in the Democratic Party.
Scope and Contents
The
California Young Democrats Collection documents the
organization's operations, administrative structure, and objectives. Materials include
governing documents, meeting announcements, minutes, leadership and member rosters,
newsletters, correspondence, pamphlets, news clippings, financial statements, campaign
literature, and convention materials. It also includes records from the CYD's numerous
chartered Democratic clubs, as well as materials from affiliated organizations such as the
Young Democrats of America, Young Democrats for Action, the California Democratic Council,
Democratic Volunteers of America, and the California Democratic Party. The collection dates
from 1958-1987 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1962-1971. The collection is
arranged into three series:
Administrative Records (1959-1986),
Chapter and Regional Files (1961-1987), and
Subject Files (1958-1974).
Series I,
Administrative Records, makes up the bulk of the
collection, and contains the working papers of the CYD. The series contains the CYD
Constitution and By-laws, which document the organization's structure, ideology, and
procedures for electing officers and chartering Democratic clubs; rosters that identify
elected officers and chapter members for designated years; and adopted resolutions that
record the organization's stance on local and national issues. Materials also include
campaign literature regarding the candidates and policies supported by the CYD; Party
convention information that documents the event's agenda and activities; and correspondence,
newsletters, and publications of affiliated organizations that interacted or worked with the
CYD. Series I also contains annual files with general correspondence, meeting minutes,
newsletters, membership cards, financial statements, and receipts for membership dues, which
document the organization's administrative operations. The series is arranged
alphabetically.
Series II,
Chapter and Regional Files, consists of records from
numerous Young Democratic Clubs chartered across California. Materials include newsletters
that notify chapter members of upcoming meetings and events, meeting minutes that document
meeting agendas, topics of concern, discussion outcomes, flyers advertising events that
bolster Party support and participation, rosters that document club membership, and
correspondence that records interactions between chapter and regional clubs and the CYD
headquarters in Sacramento. The series is arranged alphabetically.
Series III,
Subject Files, is a small series predominately
comprised of news clippings and a small number of pamphlets and brochures concerning topics
of interest to CYD. Subjects include the Vietnam War, the anti-Vietnam War movement,
President Richard Nixon, California farm workers, gun control, reapportionment,
conscription, wiretapping, the environment, and a number of social and political topics. The
series is arranged alphabetically.
Arrangement of Materials:
Series I: Administrative Records, 1959-1986
Series II: Chapter and Regional Files, 1961-1987
Series III: Subject Files, 1958-1974
Related Material
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
California Young Democrats. 1980.
Custodial History:
The collection was transferred from the Library to the Urban Archives Project in January
1980.
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Processing Information:
Jennifer Shelly, 2017
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera
Documents