Showing results by author "Eugene Debs" in All Categories

This collection captures the fiery conviction and moral force of Eugene V. Debs, one of America’s most influential labor leaders and socialist voices. The Common Laborer and Speech of Sedition reflect his passionate defense of workers, civil liberties, and political dissent in the face of inequality and state power. Together, these works offer a powerful glimpse into the radical labor politics and democratic ideals that shaped early twentieth-century America.

While there is a lower class, I am in it; While there is a criminal class, I am of it; While there is a soul in prison, I am not free. - Eugene V. Debs. This compelling collection of essays delves into the profound thoughts and indomitable spirit of Eugene V. Debs, a pivotal figure in early American labor history. As a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America, Debs passionately advocates for workers rights, organized labor, womens suffrage, class solidarity, and the tenets of economic socialism, all delivered ...

As of the date of publication (March 2022), this is by far the largest collection of Eugene V. Debs' writings available in audio. Published in 1916, it is a compilation of his writings - magazine articles and campaign material - and his speeches to conventions and other large gatherings, from the years of his greatest popularity and influence. This collection is presented to you for your consideration, for you to learn who this man was and what his movement advocated. His core principles and ideals are included herein.

Debs expresses concern for the vast number of workingmen without trades, who are often termed “unskilled” laborers. He argues that their importance in carrying forward the great industrial enterprises of the world has not been recognized in the past, and was not appreciated at the time. He also mentions that the term “skill” is often used in a sense which does great injustice to men who do not wear the badge of some particular trade, and hence, the term “skilled laborer” is never applied to men who are known as “common laborers.”

The labour leader Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926) was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for sedition after giving this speech on June 16, 1918 in Canton, Ohio. The speech denounced the First World War and the military draft.

The birth of liberation movements in the C19th saw a rise in fighting for the rights of workers. William Morris believed decries the belief “not that Commerce was made for man, but that man was made for Commerce”, with the profit motive that renders all work miserable when “It is right and necessary that all men should have work to do which shall be worth doing, and be of itself pleasant to do; and which should be done under such conditions as would make it neither over-wearisome nor over-anxious.”

Six months ago, I had never heard the name Eugene Debs. Today, I believe he is one of the greatest orators in history, ranking alongside Napoleon, Robespierre, Lincoln, and Cicero. More importantly, he was a genuine hero, a man to believe in and follow into the fires of hell. His legacy has been unrightly ignored by the same powers that imprisoned and harassed him over his life. He should be an icon, but is unremembered, for reasons he himself goes into.