The movement started with the online publication of a 23-page handbook, Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda.[5] The authors of the document, most notably Ezra Levin, Jeremy Haile, Leah Greenberg, and Angel Padilla,[5][6] were former Congressional staffers. Greenberg worked as an aide to Democratic Representative Tom PerrielloofVirginia,[7] while Levin, Greenberg's husband, worked as an aide to Lloyd Doggett, a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. After the 2016 presidential election, in mid-December 2016, Levin and Greenberg began working on an online guide in the form of a Google Document on how to make contact with congressional aides as a way of grieving over Trump's victory. Angel Padilla, and Jeremy Haile, and dozens of other staffers for Democratic members of the United States Congress joined in the creation of the online publication.[7][8]
The authors modeled their document after the Tea Party movement, which focused on local activism and obstructing the Democratic Party's agenda following the election of President Barack Obama in 2008.[9] They thought that similar action taken by the left could be effective against what they perceived as Trump's "bigoted and anti-democratic agenda".[10] The purpose of the guide was to encourage resistance to Trump's presidency, most notably by targeting Republican elected members of Congress by attending town halls, calling congressional officials, visiting their offices, and showing up at public events.[11]
Since the guide's publication, its authors have created a website with further resources on using the guide and organizing local movements. The guide is continuously updated and is available in English and Spanish.[5] By February 4, 2017, less than two months from the publication of the Indivisible Guide, and about two weeks after Trump's inauguration, more than 3,800 local groups identifying as "Indivisibles" had formed and declared their support for the movement.[13] In February, they organized as a 501(c) organization.[7]
In 2018, the group and its volunteers contributed money, endorsement and volunteer time to many House races, which was followed by Democrats winning back control of the chamber.[18] In 2019, the group endorsed a series of events aimed at supporting the impeachment of Donald Trump.[19]
The group continued its advocacy activities into the post-Trump era; in 2021, Indivisible advocated in favor of Democrats' $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill.[20] In October 2021, Indivisible planned to spend $1 million to protect eight Democratic incumbents in Congress, an effort that overlapped partly with that of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[21] In May of 2022, a board member of Indivisible Houston directly confronted Senator Ted Cruz about gun reform in the wake of the Uvalde shooting and the NRA convention.[22] In June 2022, Indivisible planned to spend $7 million.[23]
On September 5, 2023, Indivisible Action endorsed President Joe Biden's 2024 re-election bid.[24]
