Person

Eugene V. Debs

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Eugene V Debs speaking at a rally, c1912-18. Photo courtesy the Library of Congress.

For Socialism and Freedom: The Life of Eugene Debs

How Eugene V. Debs turned American republicanism against the chiefs of capitalism – and became a true crusader for freedom.
Eugene V. Debs in prison garb holds bouquet of flowers and is flanked by political supporters.

The Presidential Campaign of Convict 9653

Can you run for president from a prison cell? One man did in the 1920 election and got almost a million votes.
Black-and-white grainy photograph of Eugene Debs speaking and gesturing with his hands

In The Debs Archive

The papers of American labor activist and socialist Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926) offer a snapshot of early twentieth-century politics.
Eugene Debs in a suit

Eugene Debs Believed in Socialism Because He Believed in Democracy

Eugene Debs’s unswerving commitment to democracy and internationalism was born out of his revulsion at the tyranny of industrial capitalism.
Mugshot of Eugene Debs

Eugene Debs Was an American Hero

He forced the country to engage in a three-year conversation about the meaning of free speech that shaped policy and law after World War I.

How (or How Not) to Build a Labor Movement

Looking at the Pullman Strike and the political forces it stirred.
Eugene V. Debs campaigning to crowd

When America's Most Prominent Socialist Was Jailed for Speaking Out Against World War I

After winning 6 percent of the vote in the 1912 presidential election, Eugene Debs ran afoul of the nation's new anti-sedition laws.
Eugene V. Debs delivers an antiwar speech in Canton, Ohio, June 16, 1918.

The Unsung History of Heartland Socialism

The spirit of socialism has coursed through the American Midwest ever since the movement emerged, continuing to animate the political landscape today.
A collage of the Eugene V. Debbs museum and advertisements for his presidential campaign from prison inside the museums collection.

‘Unless Jesus Christ Was Running’: In MAGA Country, Post-Verdict Trump is Still the Answer

Eugene Debs ran for president from prison. His former bellwether county — and museum — both hold lessons for Trump’s campaign.
Woodrow Wilson working at his desk on May 1, 1917.

Don’t Be So Quick to Laud Woodrow Wilson

An effort is underway to restore President Wilson’s reputation as a great reformer. His best reforms were won by a mass movement, often pushing against Wilson.
Illustration of Abraham Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation.

Abraham Lincoln Is a Hero of the Left

Leftists have regarded Lincoln as a pro-labor hero who helped vanquish chattel slavery. We should celebrate him today within the radical democratic tradition.
Eugene Debs Presidential Campaign flyer from 1912, featuring his running mate Emil Seidel.

“American Democratic Socialism” Has a Proud, Diverse, and Inspiring History

A sweeping new history weaves personal, intellectual, and spiritual narratives into a book that reminds us of the potential of the socialist movement.
Detail from a Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers graphic, 1877.

America’s Oldest Railway Union Must Break With Its Right-Wing Past

Why does the government have the power to break massive union strikes? Part of the story is a history of conciliatory railway unionism.
Photograph of author Mike Davis.

Mike Davis Revisits His 1986 Labor History Classic, Prisoners of the American Dream

The late socialist writer's first book was a deep exploration of how the US labor movement became so weakened.
The Socialist Party leader Eugene Debs addressing a crowd, circa 1910.

How World War I Crushed the American Left

A new book documents a period of thriving radical groups and their devastating suppression.
Black and white photo of Eugene Debs being released from an Atlanta federal prison on Christmas Day, 1921.

The American Socialism That Might Have Been

Despite their minority status, the Socialists had been a significant force in American politics before patriotic war hysteria brought on an era of repression.

When King was Dangerous

He's remembered as a person of conscience who carefully broke unjust laws. But his challenges to state authority place him in a much different tradition: radical labor activism.

Repressing Radicalism

The Espionage Act turns 100 today. It helped destroy the Socialist Party of America and quashes free speech to this day.

Objection

Clarence Darrow’s unfinished work.
William Jennings Bryan, c. 1910s.

All You Need Is Love

The complex history, career, and legacy of one of America's most popular speakers and reformers.