This series chronicles the events leading to the founding of DSA. It documents Michael Harrington's early years with the Young People's Socialist League and his later role as chair of the Socialist Party, USA (which changed its name to Socialist Party-Democratic Socialist Federation, USA, or SP-DSF, around April 1972), through his resignation from the party and the formation of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) in 1973. Additionally, materials cover the early negotiations between DSOC and New American Movement (NAM), their eventual merger, and the formation of the Democratic Socialists of America (1983) through notes, resolutions, meeting minutes, negotiating instructions, and the merger agreement. Materials also include notes and meeting minutes from the Coalition Caucus, the precursor to DSOC; correspondence (most of which is from Michael Harrington and Carl Shier, Regional Director of the United Auto Workers and co-founder of DSOC with Harrington); Socialist Party, USA/SP-DSF mailings, resolutions, publications (such as New America), press releases, and Harrington's resignation letter; correspondence, memos, a proposed constitution, and the publication Socialist Reporter (a special report on the founding of DSOC) from the early days of DSOC; and early versions of DSA's constitution and bylaws. Michael Harrington's early published and unpublished writing is included here since it reflects the directions and views eventually adopted by DSOC. Published writing includes American Power in the Twentieth Century (published by the League for Industrial Democracy, 1967), and various articles for The New York Times and New York Herald Tribune, among others. Uunpublished writing includes a speech on youth and the labor movement, delivered at the 22nd Annual Central Labor Union Conference at the University of Illinois (December 1971), and an article draft on Vietnam (August 1971).

This series contains materials related to the governing bodies of DSA, from its time as DSOC. These materials include meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence and memos, reports, and notes from the National Board and the National Executive Committee (NEC). From circa 1978-early 1990s, there was also a National Office Committee (NOC), which focused on financial matters and events, such as the Convention. The minutes, reports, and memos of the NOC also are included here. This series also consists of National Political Committee (NPC) materials, which later took over the role of the board of directors; members are elected every two years by the delegates to DSA's National Convention. Some recordings of meetings, on audio and videocassettes, also are included.

This series contains materials from the youth and student section of the DSA from its early days as the Youth Section to its current iteration as the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA). Materials include Executive Committee and National Coordinating Committee minutes, memos and mailings, chapter updates, event materials (conference programs, rally and march flyers, and articles/clippings about events), information on internship programs (applications), fundraising and outreach documents (correspondence and mailings, fundraising event invitations, and membership brochures), organizing manuals, resolutions, and events by related organizations (Student Action Union, Campus Labor Institute). Also included are audiovisual recordings of conferences.

This series mostly consists of materials created by the staff at the national office. These materials include general financial records (mostly budgets), internal memos, staff meeting minutes, and directors' correspondence and reports. Additionally, there is biographical material on Michael Harrington, who served as chair of DSA from its inception to his death. Items include correspondence between Michael Harrington and publishers, copies of his CV, a published article by his wife, and an early photograph.

This series contains materials related to DSA's National Convention, which is currently held every other year. Delegates from across the country elect the members of the National Political Committee (NPC), which acts as the highest decision-making body between conventions. Materials cover the first convention through conventions in the 2010s, and include programs, agendas, mailings to speakers, speeches, papers delivered, registration materials, facilities information, press packets, resolutions, and audiovisual recordings of speeches and conference sessions.

This series consists of event and program materials which reflect DSA's mission of reform through direct action. Included are planning materials (correspondence and memos, budgets, schedules, and volunteers) for various projects and events sponsored by DSA, such as the Speakers' Bureau, Solidarity Day, Justice for All, Mobilization Against the Draft rallies, University in Society Project, and National Campaign for Peace in the Middle East. Additionally, there is information on conferences by other organizations such as New Directions, Democratic Alternatives, and International Union of Socialist Youth; and corresponding publicity (flyers, posters, articles, and clippings). Also included are audiovisual recordings of television appearances by DSA leaders, sessions from other organizations' conferences, and lectures and talks.

This series contains materials related to the Institute for Democratic Socialism (IDS), which was founded in 1978 to help spread democratic socialist ideals through educational materials and activist training. In the mid-1990s, IDS changed its name to the Democratic Socialists of America Fund. Materials consist of conference proposals and programs, correspondence, fundraising materials, and some financial records. Materials also include audio recordings of speeches and panels from the "Eurosocialism and America" conference, a three-day conference in 1980, in which U.S. activists met with international leaders of social democratic and democratic socialist political movements to explore how democratic socialist policy alternatives could benefit the U.S. Notable individuals featured in the recordings include world leaders like Willy Brandt (Germany), Olof Palme (Sweden), Joop den Uyl (Netherlands), Francois Mitterand (France), as well as Michael Harrington, union leader William Winpisinger, Representative Ron Dellums, and Gloria Steinem.

This series includes printed matter (newsletters, brochures, bulletins, conference materials, and journals) from organizations with which DSA worked and supported, such as the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Party, Mobilization for Survival, and Mobilization Against the Draft. Also covered are topics of interest to DSA and its members, such as pro-democracy movements, international solidarity, and Puerto Rican independence. These materials mostly include clippings and articles but there are a few documentaries as well.

This series contains the main website, blogs, and subdomains of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), dating back to 2008. http://www.dsausa.org/ contains information on their campaigns and programs, which include student debt alleviation, immigrant rights, environmentalism, medicare for all, and the protection of social programs, as well as meeting minutes, chapter information, convention materials, fundraising, their scholarship fund, online store, endorsements, videos, and event listings.

The main DSA website provides links to many of their projects and campaigns, including the Young Democratic Socialists of America, the National Electoral Committee, the Labor Commission, the Anti-War Think Tank, Ecosocialist working group, the International Committee, the DSA Fund, and the Tech Committee. Specific campaign websites were also captured, including Medicare for All, Close the Camps national action (protesting the detention and mistreatment of migrants and refugees, the separation of migrant families, mass deportation, and raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and Democratic Socialists campaign for Bernie Sanders.

The series also contains online publications created by the DSA, including Socialist Forum, which intends to facilitate debate and discussion among socialist thinkers and DSA members about ongoing political issues and to develop materials that can be incorporated into future political educational materials; Talking Union blog from the DSA Labor network; Democratic Left, their digital magazine; and "Why Socialists Should Become Teachers" digital pamphlet. The online magazine of the Young Democratic Socialists was known as the Activist, which was captured from 2009-2014.

It also includes the Bread & Roses caucus website, a national caucus of Marxist organizers in the Democratic Socialists of America committed to helping build an effective DSA rooted in the multiracial working class. The website includes the caucus' platform and action items, and their publication, "The Call." "The Call" is an online publication of the Democratic Socialists of America's Bread and Roses Caucus publishing opinion writing about democratic socialist organizing and administration. The site is also home to a podcast: "The Call Radio" which is available for online streaming. ReligiousSocialism.org is the website for the Democratic Socialists of America's Religion and Socialism Commission, founded by John Court, which seeks to build coalitions between progressive people of different faiths and advance conversations that bridge theology and socialist politics. The site manages regular blogs and podcasts.

The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) is a project of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) to build a distributed, grassroots organizing program to support workers organizing at the workplace. The website contains an organizing guide, organizer training, example workplace campaign petitions and flyers, organizer request form, and a blog.

Power for Texas is an action campaign developed by Democratic Socialists of America chapters and working groups in Texas, the DSA for a Green New Deal working group, and public power campaigns in response to the Texas power grid failure in February 2021. The website contains action items, calls for public power and green energy, factsheets, and aid resources for people affected by the crisis.

The PRO Act Campaign is coordinated by the Democratic Soscialists of America's Green New Deal Campaign Committee (GNDCC) and Democratic Socialist Labor Commission (DSLC). The PRO Act (Protect the Right to Organize), ends the "right to work" laws, legalizes secondary strikes, and promotes green jobs. The website also promotes the Green New Deal legislation and press related to the PRO Act.

The Green New Deal for Public Schools is a project of the Ecosocialists Working Group of the Democratic Socialists of America. The campaign called for the passing of the Green New Deal or Public Schools Act, which includes funding toward green facilities, educators and support staff, comunity engagement, and accessibility.

Protect Abortion is a campaign by the Democratic Socialists of America launched after the United State Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade and limited the right to abortion nationwide. The website contains information on protect abortion training sessions, videos and images from protests, and a toolkit for chapters.

The Dish is the online newsletter of the Democratic Socialists of America's Restaurant Organizing Project (ROP). The website contains guidance on forming a union, Starbucks workers organizing accounts, COVID-19 and restaurant workers, and other posts about workers in the food and beverage industry.

The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) and Palestine Solidarity Working Group of the Democratic Socialists of America was established in 2019. The working group called for an end to Israel's continued occupation and colonization of historic Palestine; equal rights for Palestinians; and the right of millions of Palestinian refugees to finally return to their home after decades of forced exile. The website contains events and actions, a resource library, an FAQ, a national boycott campaign, and statements regarding their call for Jamaal Bowman's expulsion from the DSA, and other statements surrounding Israeli annexation of Palestine.

National Political Education Committee was established in 2019 in response to a resolution passed by the National Political Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America. NPEC aimed to help DSA chapters develop the lesson plans, curriculum, and the facilitation skills needed to implement a long-term political education program locally. The website contains curricula created nationally and by local chapters. Class is a podcast of the National Political Education Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America. The podcast is hosted by Daphna Thier and Elton LK.

The Democratic Socialists of America International Committee works to establish relationships and provide solidarity with socialist and working class organizations internationally. The majority of their work is focused on anti-imperialism and anti-militarism globally, specifically in Cuba, Venezuela, Ukraine, China, Okinawa, Korea, Brazil, Yemen, and United States military bases. The website contains quarterly reports, political education resources, statements, and videos from panels and other events with international organizers and political activists.

The Rank-and-File Strategy is an organizing strategy by the Democratic Socialists of America to bring socialists and organized workers together to build class power. The website contains a guide to the strategy and case studies.

The Green New Deal Slate is a group of Democratic Socialists of America endorsed local candidates running on the Green New Deal platform. Members of the slate, Hugo Soto-Martinez in California, Elisabeth Epps in Colorado, Rachel Ventura in Illinois, and Sarahana Shrestha in New York were elected in the November 2022 general elections.

The Disability Working Group of the Democratic Socialists of America, initially established at the 2017 National Convention, was formed to work toward "inclusion of disabled people in all aspects of DSA and all settings where DSA participates." In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the working group advocated for events, including the National Convention, to be held in a hybrid virtual and in-person format. The linktree webpage provides links to the working group's points of unity, bylaws, code of conduct, national convention resolutions, and other external links on disability justice. DSA Organizing for Pandemic Justice is a resolution proposed by the DSA Disability Working Group at the 2023 National Convention of the Democratic Socialists of America. The website contains the full text of the resolution, chapter safety protocol, a convention COVID-19 safety guide, educational materials, cost analysis, and a timeline of the status of the proposal.

The Mutual Aid Working Group of the Democratic Socialists of America work to provide support to local chapters and provide training on mutual aid. The website contains information on their projects, the Brake Light Clinics and disaster relief.

The Housing Justice Commission (HJC) of the Democratic Socialists of America coordinate national and regional campaigns for tenants' rights and support local chapters in the creation and expansion of tenant organizing programs and tenants unions. The website contains information on their Emergency Tenant Organizing Committee (ETOC) program. The aim of ETOC is to train tenant organizers and assist in the creation of tenant unions.