Home > Vietnam War > Tom Hayden Biography

Born December 12, 1940
Royal Oak, Michigan

American political activist; cofounder
of the radical antiwar group Students
for a Democratic Society (SDS)

Tom Hayden became a political activist during his college days, when he co-founded Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Through this organization, he was involved in the social protests of the 1960s, including the civil rights movement and the antiwar movement. In 1968 Hayden helped organize a major demonstration against the Vietnam War during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The demonstration turned into a violent confrontation between protestors and Chicago police. Afterward, Hayden and seven other activists—who became known as the Chicago Eight—were put on trial for causing the riot. Once the war ended, Hayden became active in politics in California.