1934 Declaration of Principles

The 1934 Declaration of Principles was a political platform of the Militant faction passed at the Socialist Party of America (SPA) May 1934 National Convention held in Detroit, Michigan. The document committed the organization to "refuse collectively to sanction or support any international war" and condemned the "bogus democracy of capitalist parliamentarism" in favor of establishment of a "genuine workers' democracy." The 1934 Declaration of Principles was instrumental in causing a split of the SPA, with its so-called "Old Guard" faction exiting the organization en masse to establish a rival organization, the Social Democratic Federation, in 1936.