Thomas Traherne
English poet
Eugene V. Debs
American labor and political leader (1855-1926)
Eugene Victor Debs was a prominent American socialist, political activist, and trade unionist who ran for President of the United States five times on the Socialist Party ticket. He was a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and played a key role in several major labor disputes, including the Pullman Strike.
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About the Eugene V. Debs
Eugene Victor Debswas an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the Worldand the Socialist Party of America (1901). Debs ran as a Socialist candidate for President of the United States five times: 1900 (earning 0.6 percent of the popular vote), 1904 (3.0 percent), 1908 (2.8 percent), 1912 (6.0 percent), and 1920 (3.4 percent), the last time from a prison cell. He was also a candidate for United States Congress from his native state Indiana in 1916.
Debs was noted for his oratorical skills, and his speech denouncing American participation in World War I led to his second arrest in 1918. He was convicted under the Sedition Act of 1918 and sentenced to a 10-year term. President Warren G. Harding commuted his sentence in December 1921. Debs died in 1926, not long after being admitted to a sanatorium due to cardiovascular problems that developed during his time in prison.
Frequently Asked Questions
Eugene V. Debs was an American socialist, political activist, and trade unionist who was one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and ran for President of the United States five times as the Socialist Party candidate.
Early in his career, Debs was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the Indiana General Assembly in 1884. He later became a committed socialist and ran for President on the Socialist Party ticket five times between 1900 and 1920.
Debs was instrumental in the founding of the American Railway Union (ARU), one of the nation’s first industrial unions. In 1894, he led a boycott by the ARU against handling trains with Pullman cars in the nationwide Pullman Strike, which affected most lines west of Detroit and more than 250,000 workers in 27 states.
Debs was arrested and convicted of federal charges for defying a court injunction against the Pullman Strike. He served six months in prison, during which he read socialist theory and emerged as a committed adherent of the international socialist movement.
In 1918, Debs was arrested again for a speech denouncing American participation in World War I. He was convicted under the Sedition Act of 1918 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. President Warren G. Harding commuted his sentence in 1921, and Debs died in 1926 after being admitted to a sanatorium due to cardiovascular problems developed during his time in prison.
7 Quotes by Eugene V. Debs
- 1.
The most heroic word in all languages is revolution.
Eugene V. DebsAmerican labor and political leader (1855-1926)
- 2.
I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth, and I am a citizen of the world.
Eugene V. DebsAmerican labor and political leader (1855-1926)
- 3.
While there is a lower class, I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.
Eugene V. DebsAmerican labor and political leader (1855-1926)
- 4.
When great changes occur in history, when great principles are involved, as a rule the majority are wrong.
Eugene V. DebsAmerican labor and political leader (1855-1926)
- 5.
It is better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don’t want and get it.
Eugene V. DebsAmerican labor and political leader (1855-1926)
- 6.
Chicago is the product of modern capitalism, and, like other great commercial centers, is unfit for human habitation.
Eugene V. DebsAmerican labor and political leader (1855-1926)
- 7.
Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most – that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least.
Eugene V. DebsAmerican labor and political leader (1855-1926)