The
League for Industrial Democracy (or
LID) was founded in
1905 by a group of noteable
socialists including
Jack London and
Upton Sinclair. Its original name was the
Intercollegiate Socialist Society, and its stated purpose was that of "educating Americans about the need to extend democracy to every aspect of our society." Under its former name, the League focused its efforts on proselytizing to college students about the labor movement, socialism, and industrial democracy; in
1921, it assumed its new name and enlarged its scope to society at large.