The College Democrats of America organization was founded in 1932 to further the election campaign of presidential nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt.

On August 24, 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his first of many radio addresses to the Young Democrats of America clubs.

[2] Founded as a branch of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the group became independent following its split with Lyndon B. Johnson over the Vietnam War.

Following the efforts by Senator Gore and Executive Director Jonathan Miller, and officers Alex Haught, Silas Deane, Matt Pinsker, and Abe Amoros, the DNC accepted the CDA as their official youth outreach branch.

These ongoing allegations resulted in over forty federations jointly calling on the organization to adopt a series of institutional reforms.

The spat resulted in the resignation of Evan Goldstein, an officer who had compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Genghis Khan.

The convention also offers workshops on how to be effective in government and campaigning, and prominent speakers from the national Democratic party (previous speakers have included Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Nancy Pelosi, members of Congress, and Cabinet members).

[9] The function of the Executive Board is officially to "determine and implement the organization's goals"; its members have elected annually at the national convention.

All CDA members who identify as members of a minority group can vote in that minority group's caucus election, not solely chapter presidents and state federation officers – for example, all Black College Democrats can vote in the national Black Caucus election.