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'''Eugene V. Debs''' (1855-1926) was an American labor leader, Socialist politician and candidate for president in five elections 1900-1920; his strongest showing was in 1912. He led the [[Pullman Strike]] in 1894 and was imprisoned for disobeying a federal court order to desist.  He was imprisoned again in World War I for encouraging men to avoid the draft, and ran for president in 1920 from his prison cell. Debs was a consensus figure in the deeply split socialist movement, moderating the radicals of the [[IWW]] and inspiring the "gas and water" socialists concerned with municipal reform. His tireless campaigning and passionate oratory made audiences had a quasi-religious tone that emphasized guilt feelings. Not an original thinker, Debs believed capitalism, with all its works, was evil, and Socialism, with all its promises, a true panacea. He briefly belonged to the [[IWW]], which called for a violent overthrow of capitalism, but drew back from such an extreme position. [[Image:Debs20.jpg|thumb|250px|Debs in 1920 in his prison cell in Atlanta]]

'''Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs''' (November 5, 1855 - October 20, 1926) was an American labor leader, Socialist politician and candidate for president in five elections 1900-1920; his strongest showing was in 1912. He led the [[Pullman Strike]] in 1894 and was imprisoned for disobeying a federal court order to desist.  He was imprisoned again in World War I for encouraging men to avoid the draft, and ran for president in 1920 from his prison cell. Debs was a consensus figure in the deeply split socialist movement, moderating the radicals of the [[IWW]] and inspiring the "gas and water" socialists concerned with municipal reform. His tireless campaigning and passionate oratory made audiences had a quasi-religious tone that emphasized guilt feelings. Not an original thinker, Debs believed capitalism, with all its works, was evil, and Socialism, with all its promises, a true panacea. He briefly belonged to the [[IWW]], which called for a violent overthrow of capitalism, but drew back from such an extreme position.

==Early career==

==Early career==

Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Nov. 5, 1855; he lived there all his life.  He was eldest of ten children of French immigrants from Alsace. He worked as a locomotive fireman 1870-74, then quit permanently. In 1875 he helped form a lodge of the brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, and in 1880 he was made national secretary and treasurer of the brotherhood, as well as editor of its magazine. From 1879 to 1883 Debs also served as city clerk of Terre Haute, and in 1884 he was elected for a term in the Indiana state legislature as a Democrat.

Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, November 5, 1855; he lived there all his life.  He was eldest of ten children of French immigrants from Alsace. He worked as a locomotive fireman 1870-74, then quit permanently. In 1875 he helped form a lodge of the brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, and in 1880 he was made national secretary and treasurer of the brotherhood, as well as editor of its magazine. From 1879 to 1883 Debs also served as city clerk of Terre Haute, and in 1884 he was elected for a term in the Indiana state legislature as a Democrat.

==Pullman Strike, 1894==

==Pullman Strike, 1894==

Corbin (1978) argues that Debs' favorable image as a friend of the workingman is undeserved, for his attitudes and actions concerning local affiliates and rank-and-file members actually hurt the development of the Socialist Party of America. This was especially critical in the West Virginia coal strike of 1912-14. Not only did the national office of the SPA ignore the strike for a year, but when Debs finally intervened with an investigating committee, he urged coal miners to accept a questionable compromise. He also exonerated Governor Hatfield of charges of having abused his power, even though a Congressional committee reached the opposite conclusion. By ignoring the wishes of the miners and by betraying local Socialist affiliates, Debs did considerable damage to Socialist solidarity in West Virginia's coal fields, according to Corbin.  

Corbin (1978) argues that Debs' favorable image as a friend of the workingman is undeserved, for his attitudes and actions concerning local affiliates and rank-and-file members actually hurt the development of the Socialist Party of America. This was especially critical in the West Virginia coal strike of 1912-14. Not only did the national office of the SPA ignore the strike for a year, but when Debs finally intervened with an investigating committee, he urged coal miners to accept a questionable compromise. He also exonerated Governor Hatfield of charges of having abused his power, even though a Congressional committee reached the opposite conclusion. By ignoring the wishes of the miners and by betraying local Socialist affiliates, Debs did considerable damage to Socialist solidarity in West Virginia's coal fields, according to Corbin.  

==Jailed for antiwar speech in 1918==

==Jailed for antiwar speech in 1918==

When the U.S. entered World War I Debs supported the manifesto of the St. Louis convention of the Socialist party (April 1917), denouncing the war and counseling party members to oppose it by all means in their power.  At the Socialist state convention in Canton, Ohio, June 16, 1918, he delivered a speech in which he bitterly assailed the Wilson administration for its prosecution of Socialists charged with sedition. He was indicted by a federal grand jury for a violation of the Sedition Act, and on Sept. 14, after a four-days trial, was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. The U.S. Supreme Court on Mar. 10, 1919, upheld the verdict, and Debs went to federal prison.  In 1920 his vote for president again exceeded 900,000, but was only 3.4% of the total as women did not respond well to his appeals from his cell in Atlanta. At Christmas 1921 he was released by President [[Warren Harding]]. Debs then  campaigned against prison conditions. He died in Elmhurst, Illinois, Oct. 20, 1926.

When the U.S. entered World War I Debs supported the manifesto of the St. Louis convention of the Socialist party (April 1917), denouncing the war and counseling party members to oppose it by all means in their power.  At the Socialist state convention in Canton, Ohio, June 16, 1918, he delivered a speech in which he bitterly assailed the Wilson administration for its prosecution of Socialists charged with sedition. He was indicted by a federal grand jury for a violation of the Sedition Act, and on Sept. 14, after a four-days trial, was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. The U.S. Supreme Court on Mar. 10, 1919, upheld the verdict, and Debs went to federal prison.  In 1920 his vote for president again exceeded 900,000, but was only 3.4% of the total as women did not respond well to his appeals from his cell in Atlanta. At Christmas 1921 he was released by President [[Warren Harding]]. Debs then  campaigned against prison conditions. He died in Elmhurst, Illinois, October 20, 1926.

==Religious issues==

==Religious issues==