In a speech delivered in canton, ohio, on june 16, 1918, debs had delivered a speech against capitalism and the war in europe. Running for the fourth time, debs called for the abolition of capitalism rather than for its reform. What follows is the acceptance speech of eugene debs of his nomination as the socialist party candidate for president of the united states. Longacre enlarge eugene debs delivers his famous antiwar speech at canton, ohio, june 16, 1918. Debs attacks the monstrous system of capitalism history matters. Outspoken leader of the labor movement, eugene debs.
He was arrested under the espionage act of 1917 and convicted, sentenced to serve ten years in prison and to be disenfranchised for. A year after his last attempt to run for governor of vermont as the liberty union. Socialism and unionism were highly suspect in his day. Voter interest, already piqued by the unusual campaign and the candidates. He was extremely effective as a public speaker and made his living primarily as a lecturer and contributor to various periodicals. On june 16, 1918 debs made an antiwar speech in canton, ohio, protesting us involvement in world war i. Let us never forget lincolns great words, liberty before property. The trusts of today have lessened the number of capitalists, the trust is therefore the friend of labor. Debs s speech to the jury before sentencing under the espionage act of 1918, he states that he has the right of free speech and the option to condemn the war because the constitution protects his right to have an opinion on anything, including war. Debs foundation, which worked to preserve it as a debs memorial. Your honor, years ago i recognized my kinship with all living things, and i made up my mind that i was not one bit better than the meanest of the earth. Debs, the great war, and the right to dissent by ernest freeberg harvard university, 380 pp. In 1920, eugene victor debs ran for president from a cell in the federal prison in atlanta for a speech opposing world war 1 that he gave 100 years ago on june 18, 1918.
This photograph was used as government exhibit number 17 for the prosecution. Debs was regarded by many, perhaps unfairly, as a wildeyed radical. One of the most famous prosecutions under the sedition act during world war i was that of eugene v. Angered over what he felt was a betrayal of his policies by taft, his handpicked successor, roosevelt and others abandoned the republican party and founded the progressive or bull moose party. Debs delivered an antiwar speech in canton, ohio, at a meeting of the local socialist party on this day. Debs was an american labor and political leader and fivetime socialist party of america candidate for the american presidency. Debs began a tenyear sentence in federal prison after having been charged and found guilty of sedition under the espionage act of 1917.
Debs was noted for his oratory, and his speech denouncing american participation in world war i led to his. Debs was a man of great personal charm, who by the end of his life had gained the grudging respect of many of his former opponents. Speech at battery d, chicago, on release from woodstock jail. The fires of liberty and noble aspirations are not yet extinguished. At milestone documents, we believe that engaging with historys original voices is exciting for students and liberating for instructors. Eugene victor debs 5 november 1855 20 october 1926 was an american labor and political leader and fivetime socialist party candidate for president of. Debs guiding principle is best revealed in his remarks to the judge before he was sentenced to prison in 1919. Because of the speech, debs was charged and found guilty, under the sedition act of 1917 and 1918, of impeding the recruiting of an army. Debs believed the struggle for black equality was critical to realizing the promise of socialism. But they themselves did not go to war any more than the modern feudal lords, the barons of wall street go to war eugene v. Debs was a founding member of the industrial workers of the. Our new print issue, political revolution, is out now. Debs delivered a speech at canton, ohio, for which he. Republican incumbent william howard taft and democrat woodrow wilson, a moderate governor, represented the two major parties.
Eugene debs giving an antiwar speech in canton, ohio on june 16, 1918. What did debs say in his canton, ohio speech that landed him in jail. In 1885 he was elected to the indiana state assembly, as a democrat. Eugene debs 1918 canton speech got him in prison, he still ran for president. National archives at chicago, rg 21 on a sultry afternoon in 1918, the tall, lanky hoosier walked up the bandstands steps and surveyed the. World war i and the making of the modern american citizen by christopher capozzola oxford university, 334 pp.
A railroad is the architect of progress, he said in a speech at the grand. Debs leaving the federal penitentiary in atlanta, georgia, on christmas day 1921. Debs and the endurance of socialism the new yorker. One hundred years ago, eugene debs gave an antiwar speech. Early american socialists like eugene debs fought for free speech rights as a bulwark against state tyranny and employer despotism. Eugene victor debs 18551926 was one of the greatest and most articulate advocates of workers power to have ever lived. Debs the canton, ohio, speech june 16, 1918 excerpts from the original electronic text at the douglass archives of american public address. Often, after delivering an inspiring speech to a group of workers, debs could be.
Debs defended his comrades who had already been sent to jail for speaking against the war, some of them his close friends, and he disputed the common charge that the socialists were progerman. As i pointed out in a speech on the issue a few years ago, an analogy in todays political context would be, had al gore had won in 2000, for al gore to have thrown ralph nader in prison. Debs delivered on june 16, 1918 in canton, ohio was. Debs, a native hoosier, was the bestknown american socialist of his time. When americas most prominent socialist was jailed for. Debs was released from a six month jail term in the woodstock jail for his role in the great pullman strike, he delivered a speech in chicago entitled, liberty.
History 17 midterm short answers flashcards quizlet. Harding commuted his sentence to time served in december 1921. Speech at battery d, chicago, on release from woodstock jail, november 22, 1895. In 1912, four candidates battled to become president of the united states. Eugene debs had led historic strikes and run for president four times on the socialist party ticket, but the renowned orator had never given a speech. It was then that crowns, scepters, thrones and the divine right of kings to rule sunk together and man expanded to glorious liberty and sovereignty. Debs is the leader of the socialist party convicted in 1918 under the espionage act for delivering an antiwar speech. It is he who is a far greater menace to your liberty and your wellbeing than. Eugene victor debs left school at the age of fourteen, to scrape paint and. Eugene debs 1918 canton speech got him in prison, he. During the early years of the labor movement in the united states, debs was far ahead of his times, leading the formation of the american railway union aru and the american socialist party debs was born in terre haute, indiana, on november 5, 1855. To be fair to sanders, eugene debs was a socialist when the major struggle was between labor and capital and before v.
Debs leaving the federal penitentiary in atlanta, georgia, on christmas day 1921 after being imprisoned in 1918 under the sedition act. The antiwar speech that jailed eugene debs for 10 years duration. Debs gives his antiwar speech in canton, ohio but debs, like his comrades in canton, was heard around the world and for generations to come, despite the governments temporary. Eugene debs delivering the 1918 canton, ohio speech that led to his incarceration. Learn more about debs s life and accomplishments in this article. He had been imprisoned in 1918 under the sedition act, for giving a speech against participation in the first world war. Debs became a wellknown socialist both through his political activity and as a result of the governments criminal prosecution of his activities. Debs, this is an audiobook of a 1905 speech reedited by debs and published in 1909 of a speech called craft unionism in which. Debs, socialist candidate for president of the united states.
Under this new law many socialists were unjustly persecuted and stripped of their freedom of speech. Communist party usa socialist workers party liberty party peoples party citizens party new alliance party. Debs antiwar actions during world war i and his imprisonment created more support for free speech, including the right to dissent, before, during, and after world war ii. His parents, daniel and marguerite debs, were immigrants from alsace, france. Debs, 5 times socialist candidate for president, set free from prison on christmas day. However pedestrian for debs, the offending speech is a study in.
In 1965 it was designated as an official historic site of the state of indiana, and in 1966 it was designated as a national historic landmark of the united states. Debs s, speech to the jury before sentencing under the espionage act 1918 in every age there have been a few heroic souls who have been in advance of their time, who have been misunderstood, maligned, persecuted, sometimes put to death. Following a short bio of socialist leader eugene v. He was a great admirer of the abolitionists like john brown and wendell phillips, freeberg said.
The speech was a generic socialist criticism of war. That will certainly be of interest, but sanderss 1979 documentary on socialist presidential candidate eugene v. We should take up their radical struggle for civil liberties today. Eugene debs made his famous antiwar speech protesting world war i which was raging in europe. Debs was a founding member of the industrial workers of the world and a frequent presidential candidate for the socialist party of america. Debs, labor and socialist leader, delivered the great canton, ohio speech. Debs 18551926 was a labor organizer and socialist leader. Eugene debs delivered his statement to the court to the federal court of cleveland, ohio on september 18, 1918 after being convicted of violating the sedition act, a protective law passed by congress to promote the war by banning antiwar propaganda and rhetoric. But few children learn that eugene victor debs of indiana devoted his life to.
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