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Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926) was a union leader and socialist.
Every time a member of the ruling class passes away, we’re expected to bow our heads in reverence and sing their praises. Writing in 1901, Eugene Debs offered a different approach: tell the unvarnished truth about the tyranny of the rich and powerful.
Our Christmas present to you: a long-lost Eugene V. Debs article on the famed 1914 Christmas truce, in which German and British soldiers dropped their weapons for a day and played football together — displaying humanity in the face of barbarity.
Today is Giving Tuesday, so here’s a 1913 article by Eugene V. Debs, never before republished, about why the charity balls of the rich will never deliver justice for the poor. As Debs declared, “What the poor need is that the rich shall get off their backs.”
For the great labor leader Eugene Debs, socialism and freedom went hand in hand. In a 1920 article entitled “The Genius of Freedom,” reprinted here for the first time, he explained that socialism would free workers from the bonds of their capitalist masters.
On Labor Day, there’s perhaps no one better to read than Eugene V. Debs. Here’s his 1903 Labor Day message, never before republished, in which he declares, “The struggle in which we are now engaged will end only when every day is Labor Day.”
Eugene Debs was famous for excoriating the barbarities of capitalism, including the right-wing notion of the “unworthy poor.” As Debs writes in the following 1915 article, republished here for the first time, every human deserves to be free from poverty.
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.