The Social Democratic Workers' Party (, SDAP) was a
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in the Netherlands existing from 1894 to 1946. Originating from a split in the prior
Social Democratic League
The Social Democratic League (, SDB) was a Socialism, socialist political party in the Netherlands. Founded in 1881, the SDB was the first socialist party to enter the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives.
Party hi ...
, the party was a predecessor of the current
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
Labour Party.
History
1893–1904
The SDAP was founded by members of the
Social Democratic League
The Social Democratic League (, SDB) was a Socialism, socialist political party in the Netherlands. Founded in 1881, the SDB was the first socialist party to enter the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives.
Party hi ...
(SDB) after a conflict between
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
and
reformist
Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution.
Within the socialist movement, ref ...
factions. During the SDB party conference of 1893 in
Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
, a majority voted to stop participating in the elections. They were afraid that the parliamentary work would drift the socialists away from what socialism was really about. A minority of members led by
Pieter Jelles Troelstra
Pieter Jelles Troelstra (; 20 April 186012 May 1930) was a Dutch lawyer, journalist and politician active in the socialist workers' movement. He is most remembered for his fight for universal suffrage and his failed call for revolution at the en ...
tried to prevent this, and later left the party in order to found a new party. The foundation of a new party was controversial within the socialist movement, because Troelstra was seen as a bourgeois force who had destroyed the unity of the SDB and the socialist movement. When the anarchist elements began to take full control of the SDB, important regional social democratic figures joined the group around Troelstra. Together they formed a group called "the
twelve apostles
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
". The twelve apostles nearly all came from the provinces of
Friesland
Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
and
Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
or from large cities like
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, and most were intellectual-type men like teachers, vicars or lawyers. That is why SDB members and other socialists mockingly called the SDAP not a workers' party but a teachers' (Dutch: Schoolmeesters), vicars (Dutch: Dominees) and lawyers (Dutch: Advocaten) party still forming the acronym SDAP.

The party was founded in
Zwolle
Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...
in 1894. The party programme was a literal translation of the
Erfurt Program
The Erfurt Program was adopted by the Social Democratic Party of Germany during the SPD Congress at Erfurt in 1891. Drafted by theorists Karl Kautsky and Eduard Bernstein, the program set out a Marxist view and superseded the party's Gotha P ...
of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...
(SPD). Both parties believed in an imminent revolution which would make an end to suffering and inequality between classes and between men and women. The parliamentary work was only seen as a means to help the workers before the revolution would set off.
In its first years, the SDAP was a small party, searching for the best way to organise itself. It received a lot of financial and organisational support from the German SPD. In 1894, the
International
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
recognised the SDAP as the labour party. The SDAP was open for other socialist organisations, such as
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s to associate themselves with the party.
In 1896,
Cornélie Huygens became the first female member of the SDAP, and the first woman in the Netherlands to be a member of a political party. She was known as the "Red Lady".
In the
1897 general election, the party won its first two seats in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
.
Pieter Jelles Troelstra
Pieter Jelles Troelstra (; 20 April 186012 May 1930) was a Dutch lawyer, journalist and politician active in the socialist workers' movement. He is most remembered for his fight for universal suffrage and his failed call for revolution at the en ...
, a controversial person in the party, won the seat of
Tietsjerksteradeel in Friesland and became
chairman of the parliamentary party. In parliament the SDAP supported the social legislation of the
Liberal majority cabinet, led by
Nicolaas Pierson
Nicolaas Gerard Pierson (7 February 1839 – 24 December 1909) was a Dutch economist and Liberal statesman who served as the chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of the Netherlands from 1897 until 1901.
Pierson was a professor ...
. The core of the cabinet was formed by the
Liberal Union. During this period the party became the major socialist party of the Netherlands, attracting famous writers and poets like
Herman Gorter
Herman Gorter (; 26 November 1864 – 15 September 1927) was a Dutch poet and council communist theoretician. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers, a highly influential group of Dutch writers who worked together in Amsterdam in the 1880 ...
,
Henriette Roland Holst and
Herman Heijermans, and the journalist
Pieter Lodewijk Tak.
In 1900, party leader Troelstra visited
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and received a considerable sum of money, with which the party founded its own daily newspaper, called ''
Het Volk, Dagblad voor de Arbeiderspartij'' ("The People, Paper for the Workers' Party"). In the same year the remainder of the SDB, which had been renamed Socialist League, joined the SDAP.
In the
1901 general election, the SDAP performed particularly well; it tripled its seats to six, the Liberal cabinet which the socialists supported lost its majority. The
Coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
cabinet, composed of the Protestant
Anti-Revolutionary Party
The Anti-Revolutionary Party (, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and minister who served as Prime Mi ...
and the Catholic
General League, ignored the Socialists. After the election victory the party's power in the socialist
pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
began to rise. In a massive reorganisation, the associated socialist organisations had to integrate with the party's branches.
1903–1919
In January 1903, a large
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
* Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
* Airstrike, ...
broke out in the
docking sector, out of
solidarity
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
other sectors like the railway sector went on strike too. The employers responded by firing the strikers. Years of suppression of the socialist movement and trade unions led to a huge revolt. The strikers demanded the re-employment of fired strikers, payment of wages for the striking days and the recognition of trade unions. The surprised directors of the railway companies accepted the demands. Meanwhile, the confessional cabinet led by
Kuyper wanted to end the strike by posing harsh penalties against the strikers, because the strike struck vital industries.
Initially, the SDAP supported the strike, hoping it would spark a socialist revolution. But in reaction to the government legislation, moderate party members, including Troelstra, turned against the strikes. This led to a controversy between
orthodox Marxists
Orthodox Marxism is the body of Marxist thought which emerged after the deaths of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the late 19th century, expressed in its primary form by Karl Kautsky. Kautsky's views of Marxism dominated the European Marxist ...
and
moderate revisionists.
The strike ended the cooperation of socialist unions with confessional unions and the social democratic SDAP and anarchists of other organisations. The strike however did not only lead to breaches. The trade unions were prepared to unite and work together with the SDAP. The
Dutch Confederation of Trade Unions
The Dutch Confederation of Trade Unions (, NVV) was a Dutch social-democratic trade union.
History
The NVV was founded in 1906 as a merger of fifteen smaller unions, as a result of the inability of the previous unions to control the radical ele ...
(NVV) was founded in 1905 by
Henri Polak.
After the railway strike, the conflict between
revisionists and orthodox Marxists intensified both within the SDAP and internationally. In 1903 Troelstra lost control of ''Het Volk'' to the orthodox faction. In 1904, the orthodox faction had another victory, when revisionism was forbidden by the conference of the
International
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
.
On the eve of the
1905 general election, the revisionists won a crucial victory. The party decided to support liberal candidates who were in favour of
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
. The party gained one seat, meaning it held seven seats, and supported the liberal minority
De Meester cabinet.
Many members of the SDAP were irritated by the behaviour of the orthodox Marxists who were continuously denouncing moderates. Troelstra openly attacked the orthodox Marxists and the party congress in a formal resolution declared to oppose all labelling opportunists and revisionists. The orthodox Marxist chairman
Pieter Lodewijk Tak resigned and was succeeded by
Willem Vliegen. Tak also lost control of ''Het Volk'' to Vliegen.
In 1907, a group of orthodox Marxists around
David Wijnkoop
David Joseph Wijnkoop (; 11 March 1876 – 7 May 1941) was a Dutch people, Dutch Communism, communist leader in the first half of the twentieth century.
Life
He was the eldest son of Rabbi Joseph Wijnkoop and Dientje Milia Nijburg. At the Bar ...
founded the magazine ''
De Tribune'', which attacked the revisionist leadership of the SDAP. Troelstra and other leaders removed him and his associates from the party ranks in 1909. Wijnkoop founded the orthodox Marxist
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
(SDP) the same year. The SDP later became the Communist Party of Holland. This was one of the first splits within the European labour movement.
In the
1909 general election, the SDAP held on to its seven seats, but their liberal allies lost many seats to the Coalition parties, who won a majority of sixty seats. In the knowledge that they could not accomplish anything in parliament, the SDAP focused on the extra-parliamentary movement for
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
, for both men and women, regardless of class.

The party's original strategy was to organise mass strikes for universal suffrage. But the socialist union NVV feared reprisals from employers, so the SDAP decided to start a
petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...
. In a mass
demonstration in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
on
Prinsjesdag
Prinsjesdag () is the day on which the reigning Monarchy of the Netherlands, monarch of the Netherlands addresses a joint session of the States General of the Netherlands, States-General of the Netherlands (consisting of the Senate of the Neth ...
the petition was presented to parliament. The SDAP called it ''Roode Dinsdag'' ("Red Tuesday"). The demonstration led to considerable controversy, when Queen
Wilhelmina decided not to attend the Prinsjesdag ceremonies. For the 1912 Prinsjesdag the Red Tuesday was forbidden.
During this time, the
women's movement
The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's ...
began to influence the party. Women were deprived of political influence in the party, and the party leadership was split over the issue. Socialist women organisations began to flourish because of the struggle for universal suffrage. The SDAP founded a women's section, called ''
Samen Sterk'' (Together Strong). Samen Sterk tried to found trade unions for female employees, starting with house maids. This caused considerable controversy in bourgeoisie circles.
In the
1913 general election, the SDAP more than doubled its seats to 15. As a serious force in parliament, the SDAP was asked to participate in government by the liberal
formateur
A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...
, and was offered three ministerial posts. The SDAP, even the reformist Troelstra, refused government participation, because the party acknowledged one of its major ideals, national disarmament, could not be realised. Instead of an unstable minority government, an
extra-parliamentary cabinet was formed, comprising liberal and non-partisan ministers. The cabinet intended to realise socialist demands, like
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
, the
state pension
A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "defined benefit plan", wher ...
and the
eight-hour working day
The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time.
The modern movement originated in ...
.
After the 1913 municipal elections, however, the SDAP did accept government responsibility in
Zaandam
Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan ...
and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, forming
municipal executive
In the Netherlands, the municipal executive (, oftentimes abbreviated to ; ) is the executive board of a municipality. It plays a central role in municipal politics in the Netherlands, similar to the communal college in Belgium. It consists of t ...
s with the liberals.
After
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
had broken out, the SDAP supported the Dutch policy of armed
neutrality. This support was welcomed by the leaders of the other parties but not by many SDAP members. In 1915, a special conference declared that the SDAP only supported the government temporarily and the support could be withdrawn, thus preventing another party-wide conflict.
During the war, the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
blockaded the Dutch ports, which in turn led to an enormous lack of food; riots broke out in the major cities. The SDAP supported the government actions against these riots. Many of the protesters were furious about the SDAP and changed allegiance to the Social Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, the political system was in revision. A constitutional reform enabling universal suffrage was prepared by the liberal cabinet. In order to realise this change a two-thirds majority was necessary. This practically meant that all major parties, including the Coalition parties needed to agree with the change. The Coalition parties would consent to the change, but only if
confessional schools would be granted finances equal to the public schools and if universal suffrage was not extended to women.
The SDAP was especially critical of the second demand. On 17 September 1916, it organised a mass rally with 40,000 demonstrators, demanding female suffrage. In the end, however, the party consented with the changes the confessional parties demanded. With some changes, women were granted the right to be elected and women's suffrage was deconstitutionalised, meaning that only a normal majority was necessary to implement the change. In 1919, the left-liberal
Henri Marchant initiated a bill to implement female suffrage, and in 1922 the first election with real universal suffrage was held.
In
1918
The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...
, the first general election with universal suffrage and proportional representation was held. The SDAP won 22 of the 100 seats. One of these seats was taken by
Suze Groeneweg, the first woman elected to parliament. Four seats were won by other
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
parties, including the communists. The confessional parties however won a majority.
In November 1918,
revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
broke out in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. SDAP leader Troelstra thought that the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
was ready for revolution as well. In a speech in parliament he demanded the resignation of the government, because he expected the army and the police to support the revolution. The government did not resign. Instead, it prevented revolution from spreading. In doing so they were supported by most of the Dutch population. This incident is called "
Troelstra's mistake" (). Many SDAP members were displeased with Troelstra. He politically survived the 1919 party congress, though only narrowly.
Troelstra's mistake, the SDAP's reluctance to form a socialist/liberal government in 1913 and the electoral strength of the confessional parties prevented the SDAP's participation in government until 1939.
The SDAP won in the 1919 municipal elections, and socialist-supported
municipal executive
In the Netherlands, the municipal executive (, oftentimes abbreviated to ; ) is the executive board of a municipality. It plays a central role in municipal politics in the Netherlands, similar to the communal college in Belgium. It consists of t ...
s were formed in many cities.
In 1919, many socialist demands (universal suffrage, the eight hour workday and state pensions) were implemented. The party began to shift their focus away from the revolution and towards the direct improvement of the position of the working class.
1919–1946
Between 1919 and 1939, the SDAP got increasingly more seats but were kept out of government by a confessional majority; in 1926,
Roman Catholic State Party leader,
Wiel Nolens said that the confessionals would only govern with the socialists in a case of extreme necessity.
During the 1930s, the SDAP began to moderate its policies. It removed the demand of national disarmament in 1934, and became less republican, for instance sending a telegram with felicitations to Queen Wilhelmina in 1938 after her daughter, princess
Juliana
Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus.
Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, whi ...
, gave birth to princess
Beatrix
Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "ble ...
. During the crisis the party proposed several plans for economic reform. In 1935 the SDAP published the
Plan of Labour, which included plans to increase
employment
Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...
,
nationalise
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English)
is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...
vital industry and implement a system of
unemployment benefit
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (hu ...
s. The confessional-liberal government rejected the socialist proposals for economic reform. After 1936, however, it changed its course, giving into socialist demands by
devaluating the guilder and allowing the national debt to rise in order to increase employment.
In reaction to this moderate course, a group of orthodox Marxist members, led by
Jacques de Kadt, left the party to form the
Independent Socialist Party. After an unsuccessful merger with the (
Trotskyist
Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
)
Revolutionary Socialist Party, many of the 3,000 split members returned.
This course of moderation was suddenly interrupted by the incidents surrounding the mutiny on the cruiser
''De Zeven Provinciën''. During the mutiny, the political leadership of the SDAP announced that, although they did not support it, they could understand the motives behind the mutiny. Because of this incident the government temporarily forbade soldiers to be a member of the SDAP.
In 1939, at the dawn of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, prominent SDAP members were asked to participate in a national coalition, led by Protestant politician
De Geer; the dawning war was the extreme necessity that allowed the SDAP to enter government. After the Netherlands was invaded by the Germans this government became the
Dutch government-in-exile
The Dutch government-in-exile (), also known as the London Cabinet (), was the government in exile of the Netherlands, supervised by Queen Wilhelmina, that fled to London after the German invasion of the country during World War II on 10 May 19 ...
, in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The SDAP first supplied two ministers (Albeda and Jan van de Tempel) and in 1944 they were joined by
Jaap Burger. The SDAP was banned in 1940 by
the occupying force. Many SDAP members were involved in
resistance work during the war.
After World War II, there was a widespread sentiment in the Netherlands that the political system should be changed. This was called the
Breakthrough. In order to force this breakthrough the SDAP merged with the left-liberal
Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) and the Christian-socialist
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to form a new party: the
Labour Party. They were joined by individuals from the Protestant
Christian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union (, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980.
History 187 ...
(CHU) and
Anti-Revolutionary Party
The Anti-Revolutionary Party (, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and minister who served as Prime Mi ...
(ARP) and members of the
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
resistance movement.
Ideology and issues
When it was founded in 1897 the SDAP was a
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
party, which strove for a
socialist revolution. The party wanted to
nationalise
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English)
is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...
the means of production and build a system of
social security
Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...
. It was a staunch proponent of
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
. Through time the party became more moderate. In 1939, the party was a
democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...
party, which wanted to improve the situation of Dutch workers through parliament.
The parties main issues were the 5 k's the party opposed:
#
Capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
(Dutch: Kapitaal): the party opposed the rule of capital, and wanted to create a socialist society.
# National church, Church (Dutch: Kerk): the party opposed the separation of church and state, control the church had over large parts of society.
# Monarchy, King (Dutch: Koning): the party opposed the Dutch Monarchy, monarchy and wanted to transform the Netherlands into a republic.
# Army, Barracks (Dutch: Kazerne): the party wanted to disarm the Military of the Netherlands, Dutch army. The party opposed militarism and nationalism. After the rise of the German Nazi Party the SDAP began to agitate for a people's army.
# Pubs (Dutch: Kroeg): the party thought that alcoholism was one of the greatest foes of the working class.
Electoral results
House of Representatives
Representation
This table shows the SDAP's results in elections to the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, Senate (Netherlands), Senate and Provincial council (Netherlands), provincial councils, as well as the party's parliamentary leader, this post is normally taken by the party's leader. It also possible that the party leader is member of cabinet, if the SDAP was part of the governing coalition, the highest ranking minister is listed, supportive indicates that the SDAP did not supply any ministers, but was supportive of the legislation proposed by cabinet.
Founders
Founders, known as the 12 apostles:
Frank van der Goes,
Pieter Jelles Troelstra
Pieter Jelles Troelstra (; 20 April 186012 May 1930) was a Dutch lawyer, journalist and politician active in the socialist workers' movement. He is most remembered for his fight for universal suffrage and his failed call for revolution at the en ...
, Henri van Kol, Adriaan Gerhard, Helmig Jan van der Vegt, Louis Cohen (politician), Louis Cohen, Jan Fortuijn, Willem Helsdingen,
Henri Polak, Jan Schaper, Hendrik Spiekman, and
Willem Vliegen.
Municipal and provincial government
Many SDAP members of parliament were also members of a provincial or municipal council. Since 1913 the SDAP had participated in the municipal government of Amsterdam. Several famous SDAP politicians, like Willem Drees had first built up a reputation in municipal government through initiating employment and housing programs. This tradition was called ''Wethouderssocialisme'' (Wethouder, Alderman Socialism) and was very important for the credibility of the post-war PvdA.
In 1919 the SDAP had 1162 members of Municipal council (Netherlands), municipal councils and 72 members of the
municipal executive
In the Netherlands, the municipal executive (, oftentimes abbreviated to ; ) is the executive board of a municipality. It plays a central role in municipal politics in the Netherlands, similar to the communal college in Belgium. It consists of t ...
.
The figure below shows the SDAP's results in the 1927 provincial elections. In several provinces, the urban North Holland and South Holland especially, the party performed very well. In the Catholic and predominantly rural South, Limburg and North Brabant, the party had a marginal position. In the Protestant and rural North, especially Groningen and Friesland, the party also performed well.
Electorate
In the period 1897-1919, when voting rights were restricted the party mainly received support from educated workers and young members of the Intelligentsia (lawyers, teacher, vicars and engineers). The SDAP was mainly supported by atheists and latitudinarian protestants. When universal suffrage was granted in 1919 the SDAP began to expand to all layers of the population, drawing heavy support from the working class.
The party historically received strong support from the major cities, such as
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, and the northern provinces of
Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
,
Friesland
Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
and Drenthe and the industrial region Twente.
Organisation
Organisational structure
The highest organ of the SDAP was the party congress, Congress, formed by delegates from the municipal branches. It convened once every year. It appointed the party board, decided the order of candidates on electoral lists for the Senate (Netherlands), Senate and
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
and had the final say over the party program.
Membership
When the SDAP was founded in 1897 it has around 600 members organised in 25 municipal branches.
In 1919 the party had around 49,000 members in around 645 municipal branches.
In 1938 the party had around 88,000 members in around 650 municipal branches.
The party's membership throughout its existence is displayed in the chart below.
International organisations
Between 1894 and 1914 the SDAP was member of the Second International, after World War I, it lost its international contacts.
The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.
[Kowalski, Werner. ]
Geschichte der sozialistischen arbeiter-internationale: 1923 - 19
'. Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985. p. 309
Pillarised organisations
The SDAP had strong links with other socialist organisations in the socialist
pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
. It had strong links with the largest trade union Nederlands Verbond van Vakverenigingen, NVV. Two important means of propaganda of the party were the social democratic broadcasting organisation VARA (tv), VARA and the paper Het Vrije Volk.
The youth organisation Arbeiders Jeugdcentrale (Workers' Youth Central, AJC) was a large youth organisation aligned with the SDAP, founded in 1918, with around 11,500 members in 1935. The women's association aligned with the SDAP was
Samen Sterk (Together Strong) founded in 1912. The student's association aligned with the SDAP was the Social Democratic Students Club, (Sociaal-Democratische Studentenclub, SDSC).
A Workers' Education Institute (Instituut voor Arbeiders Ontwikkeling IvAO) was set up in 1924 and a scientific bureau in 1935.
But the SDAP also had close links with workers' recreational organisations like the League of Workers' Singing Association and the Dutch Workers' Sporting Association. The Teetotalism, teetotalist movement also had close links with the SDAP.
Relationships to other parties
Between 1897 and 1919 the SDAP supported liberal politicians, who were in favour of universal suffrage, in some districts. Several liberal minority governments were supported by the socialists. These relations deteriorated after the SDAPs unwillingness to participate in socialist/liberal cabinet in 1913 and Troelstra's mistake (in 1918). Furthermore, universal suffrage, a goal which united the liberals and the socialists was granted in 1918.
The relations between the SDAP and the confessional parties was particularly bad. The confessional parties saw socialism as an atheist ideology. This prevented SDAP government participation until 1939. Following the 1919 election some christian socialism, Christian socialist parties entered parliament which advocated stronger cooperation between the SDAP and the confessional parties. These calls were ignored by the confessional parties.
The SDAP was in constant state of cold war with the communist party Communist Party of the Netherlands, SDP, later CPH, split from the SDAP. In 1935 when Moscow Popular front, decreed that Comintern parties should cooperate with social democratic parties, the relationship improved.
The SDAP also had good relations with the Social liberalism, social liberal Free-minded Democratic League (VDB). However the VDB's participation in the economically conservative 1930s crisis cabinets deteriorated this relationship. It furthermore had good relations with the Christian socialist
Christian Democratic Union.
Footnotes
Additional sources consulted
*J. Perry, P.J. Knegtmans, D.F.J. Bosscher, F. Becker and P. Kalma (1994). Honderd jaar sociaal-democratie in Nederland 1894-1994. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Bert Bakker.
*H. de Vos. (1976) Geschiedenis van het socialisme in Nederland, in het kader van zijn tijd, deel 1. Baarn: Het wereldvenster
Further reading
* Bert Altena, "Bürger in der Sozialdemokratie: Ihre Bedeutung für die Entwicklung der Sozialdemokratischen Arbeiterpartei (SDAP) in den Niederlanden 1894-1914" (Citizens in The Social Democracy: Their Importance for the Development of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) in the Netherlands, 1894-1914), ''Geschichte und Gesellschaft,'' vol. 20, no. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1994), pp. 533–548
In JSTORArchief SDAPat the International Institute of Social History
{{Authority control
Defunct socialist parties in the Netherlands
Second International parties
Members of the Labour and Socialist International
Political parties established in 1894
1894 establishments in the Netherlands
Political parties disestablished in 1946
1946 disestablishments in the Netherlands
Labour Party (Netherlands)