The Port Huron Statement is the political and idealistic manifesto of the student activist movement Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). It was written in 1962 by members of the SDS, whose main backbone was the students of the University of Michigan. The manifesto was written in historically difficult times for the United States, which fell on the aggravation of relations with the USSR, the beginning of the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the development of crisis trends in the economy. The purpose of The Port Huron Statement was to draw public attention to the state of the American political system, which was unable to achieve social justice, economic prosperity, and peace in the foreign policy arena.
The manifesto has a critical form, although it also contains framework proposals for social and political changes. The students paid attention to the most important aspects of American politics, pointing out that they are forced into activism because of the state of affairs that the politicians of previous generations led to. First, the two-party political system has ceased to be a mechanism for change and the collective adoption of new decisions. The SDS students believed that a more left-wing party was needed, as well as a series of political reforms to achieve participatory democracy. Second, the manifesto criticized economic inequality, big business dominance, and workers’ oppression. The new economic principles offered a transition to new incentives for work and production and the openness of primary resources and means of production. Third, the manifesto criticized social and racial inequality. Fourth, much attention was paid to criticism of US foreign policy, leading to wars and escalation in the Cold War.
The Port Huron Statement is a romantic text, so many student suggestions and criticisms seem quite naive and out of touch with reality. At the same time, the manifesto has not lost its significance due to high ideals and aspirations, and most importantly, since representatives of universities correctly identified the most complex and most acute problems of the modern world back in the 60s. American society has already entered the era of the galloping development of consumerism and social conformity. This only exacerbated social problems, economic inequality, and manifestations of racism. The younger generation was especially worried about issues of a global scale – a possible nuclear war, which hung like a sword of Damocles over the world. Therefore, Port Huron’s statement voiced the ideas and philosophy of pursuing a policy of social change based on new approaches in politics, economics, and social and cultural spheres.
In my opinion, The Port Huron Statement resonates with young people in today’s world. We also feel anger at getting the country in such an unsatisfactory state of affairs. The modern generation will be forced to face the problems of the state and global scale – attacks on American democracy, economic crises, social inequality and racism, the health care system crisis, and global climate change. As unrealistic as the 1962 manifesto was, it is just as relevant today because the old methods did not solve almost all of the problems listed. More than half a century ago, students in America demanded a new approach and ways of creating collective solutions that would consider all people’s interests. However, this was not fully implemented, the changes introduced by the government were half-hearted, and the results horrified the new generation nowadays.