[1] These groups have diverse names, including the "Athenian Literary Society," "Young People's Alliance," and "Social Science Study Club.

"[1] The Young People's Socialist League (YPSL, pronounced "YIP-sell") was founded on May 17, 1907, in Chicago, Illinois, with the group containing about 30 members at the time of its formation.

[2] Participants sought their own headquarters and held a series of money-raising entertainments and social events to that end, successful enough for the group in November 1907 to open an office in the building of the Chicago Daily Socialist.

It was at this time the SPA's national committee was pushed into action by the efforts of the party's California State Secretary, a vociferous supporter of the socialist youth movement.

[1] Two years later, YPSL National Secretary William "Bill" Kruse reported the group had a membership of about 5,000, spread in Circles in 147 cities.

[1] With the coming of American entry into World War I, National Secretary Kruse was one of five top leaders of the SPA targeted for prosecution by the United States Department of Justice.

[1] Weisbord managed to rebuild a network of YPSL Circles but in 1924 he joined Carlson and Kruse in the ranks of the Workers Party of America, "legal" successor to the underground communist movement.

[1] The YPSL organization survived the defection of its third leader and were active in the Socialist Party-endorsed campaign of Robert M. La Follette for President of the United States in 1924.

An attempt was made to start a new official publication for the organization called Free Youth, but the effort failed due to lack of funds, with the membership of the Socialist Party down to about 10% of where it stood five years previously.

"[9] Yipsel Circles were called up on to "make Falcon work a part of their regular activity" and volunteers from the YPSL ranks were sought to serve as leaders and advisors of the new Junior youth organization.

Activities of one branch of the group included early morning distribution of trade union leaflets at a non-union handkerchief factory and visits to a New York museum "to see visual portrayal of the story of evolution.

[13] Harry Fleischman was named by National Secretary Senior as the new head of the children's group, which claimed an organized membership of "approximately 2500.

[14] The Socialist Vanguard was marked by royal blue shirts with a red logo, the emblem being a circle with three arrows, as used by the by then annihilated Iron Front in Germany.

[14] The gathering was addressed by party leader and perennial Presidential nominee Norman Thomas as well as Mayoral candidate Charles Solomon.

[14] Jack Altman, a veteran of the YPSL, was chosen as leader of the new body, with three others selected as boro heads for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.

While, YPSL was periodically active in collegiate affairs, this effort was often conducted by members who were connected with other left youth organizations, such as the Student League for Industrial Democracy.

A bitter struggle between the rivaling factions appeared during the late 1930s within the mother party, between the revolutionary socialist "Militants" and an electorally-oriented "Old Guard."

A complaint was filed and the matter was brought before the national executive committee for judgment at its March 23–24, 1935, session held in Buffalo, New York.

The NEC instructed the New York State Committee to adhere to the national constitution of the SPA, which called for the admission of YPSL members of 2 years good standing.

[21] In 1936, an influx of Trotskyist members into the adult tilted the YPSL's ideological direction to the left, with National Secretary Ernest Erber particularly supportive of the new radical trend.

The YCL drew strength from both liberals and socialist alike, many supporters were convinced that Europe needed help to defeat the fascist state of Nazi Germany.

They had helped organize several important civil rights demonstrations with the aid of Bayard Rustin, including the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage to Washington and the 1958 and 1959 Youth March for Integrated Schools.

In 1960 YPSL members played important roles organizing pickets at local Woolworths in support of the Southern sit-ins and protesting the arrival of the HUAC to the San Francisco Bay area.

However, the SPU was a base for the labor-party faction within the YPSL and the realignment tendency sought to having it merge with Student SANE to dilute their influence.

They were briefly successful in getting Al Haber removed as field secretary in March 1961, but he was quickly rehired after threatening to form another youth group.

[31] In May 1961 the YPSL tried to get the SDS to affiliate with a number of independent groups in which it was active, such as the Politics Club at the University of Chicago as chapters, but were rebuffed.

After reading the statement, the LID board found that the changes Harrington had favored had been included in the final document; after some financial backers came to SDS's defense, the locks were removed from their office and Haber was reinstated.

The national committee met on November 28–29 and passed two resolutions, one lifting the suspension if the YPSL would agree to continue in its constitutional role as the party's youth section, and another empowering it to appoint a special youth committee to co-ordinate the activities of loyal yipsels and chapters should the YPSL leadership not comply with the first resolution.

[33][34][35] A number of the YPSL members from the 1960s and early 1970s became notable figures, including United States Senator Bernie Sanders, Carl Gershman of the National Endowment for Democracy, Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute and Max Green, the author of Epitaph for American Labor: Radicalism in the Union Movement (1996).

[37] Winston Dancis was unanimously elected national secretary, Arthur G. McDowell was elected national chairman, succeeding the retiring Julius Umansky, and a new NEC was chosen, including Dancis, McDowell, Austin Adams (Reading, PA), John Domurad (Holyoke, MA), Aaron Levenstein (New York City), Robert Parker (Cleveland), Paul A. Rasmussen (Illinois), John Stroebel (Milwaukee), Noah C.A.