Before its affiliation with the ADA, the student branch of the Americans for
Democratic Action was known as the United States Student Assembly. The USSA had been
formed so that American students could study the most pressing problems of both
national and international importance and then act on their decisions in cooperation
with progressive forces in the college communities.
In 1946 the USSA joined with ADA (then called the Union for Democratic Action) and
became the Students for Democratic Action (SDA). The initial purpose of the SDA was to
maintain its independent national structure, hold conventions to elect officers, and
adopt a program. In 1959, the SDA undertook a program to renovate and revitalize
itself. In the process it changed its name to the Campus Division, ADA (CADA).
