[citation needed] At the time, United States citizens were not legally considered adults until the age of 21, and so the group focused on the under-discussed economic exploitation of adolescents and children.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's relationship with the AYC eventually led to the formation of the National Youth Administration (NYA).

[1] While speaking of the NYA in the 1930s, Eleanor Roosevelt expressed her concerns regarding ageism, stating that "I live in real terror when I think we may be losing this generation.

The document addressed several issues, chief among them being the inalienable rights they believed were due to young people, and the economic problems which most affected them.

Another officer, Abbott Simon, who was also a staff member of the Communist Party USA publication, Champion, slept for two weeks in Lincoln's bed during the hearings.