This text explores the first mass student movement in American history - a crusade led largely by young Communists in the Depression era. Caused by the economic crisis of the 1930s, it was both an anti-war campaign and a movement championing an egalitarian vision of the welfare state.

"[Cohen] has been able to draw from the printed record and personal interviews a remarkably faithful and sensitive account. It is a largely untold story that richly repays the interested reader's effort. The history of American communism and radicalism--and of that anguished decade, the 1930s--is incomplete without it."--Theodore Draper, The New York Review of Books "The definitive history of the student movement of the 1930s...Cohen provides a balanced, nuanced, and extraordinarily thorough analysis of one of the most significant periods in the history of American students and of American higher education. This major historical contribution will be the volume to turn to for insights on student culture and politics in the volatile and fascinating decade of the '30s. Highly recommended."--CHOICE "When the Old Left Was Young reminds us how much promise there was in the student movement of the 1930s. The book deserves study for many reasons, one of which is that it is a good read...And if a viable left is ever reborn, it will have at its disposal this detailed and penetrating study, which not only illuminates the development of campus radicalism in the recent past but also clearly outlines the mistakes that must be avoided in the future."--The Nation "Richly detailed, meticulously annotated, and highly illuminating study...Cohen brings to his work a wealth of information and considerable clarity. He is particularly good in explaining the growth of the student movement in the mid 1930s, eschewing facile economic determinism in favor of a more nuanced analysis. He breaks new ground when dealing with the students' civil-rights activism...When the Old Left Was Young supersedes all previous studies. It is the best we are likely to see for a long time."--The Historian "Robert Cohen has established his credentials as a serious and gifted historian of American Radicalism."--Maurice Isserton - Hamilton College "Through impressive use of primary documents as well as first-hand interviews with participants, the author provides a richly detailed account of student involvement in the political movements of the period...This volume is the long awaited magnum opus on this subject."--Higher Education "This volume by Robert Cohen fills a gap in the literature of the American left. It is the first and only comprehensive study of the radical movement among college students in the 1930's...Bound to provoke considerable discussion, perhaps even spirited criticism...but the inevitable debate will only enhance its significance and serve to focus the attention of the scholarly community on one of the most important works to come along in many years."--American Historical Review "A major strength of this work lies in its depth of research in a variety of sources...When the Old Left Was Young is a valuable reminder of the basic tension between the university as instrument of the dominant order and the possibilities of education as a means of social change."--The Journal of American History "Cohen's work is a necessary resource for all future examination of American student movements, and, indeed, for further effort to understand the American Left's historical experience."--Contemporary Sociology "Americans with personal memories of the college student movement of the 1930s are, quite literally, a dying breed today, which makes all the more welcome and important this fine study by Robert Cohen."--Perspectives on Political Science "[A] fine study...Informative and well written."--Peace & Change "Robert Cohen's excellent study of the radical student movement of the 1930s offers scholars a balanced interpretation of that era that goes beyond the usual polemics of Cold War historiography...Cohen has written what is undoubtedly the definitive work on this subject, one that is essential reading for scholars of the 1930's."--History of Education Quarterly "An impressive work of historical scholarship. It is firmly grounded in wide-ranging research in college and government archives...An authoritative, encyclopedic account of an important, but usually overlooked, aspect of depression-era political culture."--Georgia Historical Quarterly