Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926) was a union leader and socialist.
Eugene Debs supported the struggles of workers everywhere for power on the job. That included Chicago teachers — who he praised in this 1915 article, never before reprinted, for doggedly fighting a local ban on their union.
This Memorial Day, we should rededicate ourselves to fighting the horrors of war. So here’s a 1916 Eugene Debs piece, never before republished, about why internationalism is at the heart of socialist politics.
In 1923, Eugene V. Debs wrote a powerful May Day address for the black socialist magazine the Messenger that called for “the emancipation of all races from the oppressive and degrading yoke of wage slavery.” We republish it here in full, for the first time since it appeared 100 years ago.
Happy St Patrick’s Day! Here’s a 1916 article by Eugene Debs denouncing the British government for executing Irish socialist James Connolly and calling for a revolution to “sweep landlordism and capitalism and oppression from the Emerald Isle.”
In a previously unpublished eulogy to John Brown from 1908, Eugene Debs proclaimed Brown the “greatest liberator this country has known” and declared that ”the Socialist Party is carrying on the work begun by John Brown.” We publish it here in full.
In a 1914 essay, Eugene V. Debs pronounced Jesus “the world’s supreme revolutionary leader” and “as real and persuasive a historic character as John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, or Karl Marx.” We reprint the essay here in full as our Christmas gift to you.
In 1907, Eugene Debs waxed poetic about the red flag, calling it “a sign of terror to every tyrant” and “the flag of Universal Freedom.” We reprint his article here in full.
In a 1902 article, Eugene V. Debs described his journey from young labor organizer to militant socialist. We reprint it here in full.
In a 1911 article, legendary socialist Eugene Debs excoriated the US Constitution as an “autocratic and reactionary document” written by aristocrats and “in every sense a denial of democracy.” To mark Presidents’ Day, we reprint the fiery essay here in full.
In December 1914, socialist leader Eugene V. Debs sent a Christmas letter to a man in a Michigan prison. We reprint the message here in full.
Eugene V. Debs died on this day in 1926. Debs idolized John Brown, who he eulogized in a 1907 article as “the most self-sacrificing soul in American history.” We reprint the brief but rapturous article here in full.
On July 4, 1901, socialist luminary and labor agitator Eugene V. Debs proclaimed in a fiery speech: “I like the Fourth of July. It breathes a spirit of revolution.” We reprint the fiercely anticapitalist address here in full.
Before being sent to prison for speaking out against World War I, Eugene Debs delivered a defiant speech to the court that decried the ills of capitalism, held out the democratic promise of socialism, and declared, “While there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” We reprint it here in full.
Today in 1918, Eugene V. Debs delivered the speech that landed him in jail. We reprint it here in full.
How should we observe Veterans Day? By working to eradicate war and the economic system that helps produce it.