The Selected Works of Eugene V. Debs, Vol. I: Building Solidarity on the Tracks, 1877–1892

The Selected Works of Eugene V. Debs #1

by Eugene V. Debs, Tim Davenport (Editor), David Walters (Editor)

An extensive compilation of articles, speeches, press statements, and open letters by American socialist Eugene V. Debs, this book is the first in a six volume series that assembles much of Debs’s work for the first time in a single place. The collection makes readily accessible approximately 150 documents by one of the pivotal figures in the labor movement. Illuminating nineteenth century working-class history, particularly the complex and shifting situation in the transportation industry, this volume provides a basis for deeper understanding of Debs and his role later during the glory days of the Socialist Party of America.

Genres: Politics

728 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Eugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, a founding member of the International Labor Union & the Industrial Workers of the World, as well as candidate for President as a member of the Social Democratic Party in 1900.

In 1855, labor leader, reformer and socialist Eugene V. Debs was born in Terre Haute, Ind. He was not baptized by his formerly Catholic mother. The family living room contained busts of Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. When a teacher gave Debs a bible as an academic award, inscribing it, "Read and obey," Debs later called, "I never did either." (New York Call interviews with David Karsner). He dropped out of high school at age 14 to work. By 1870 he had become a fireman on the railroad, attending evening classes at a business college. His labor activism began in 1875. As president of the Occidental Literary Club of Terre Haute, Debs brought "the Great Agnostic" Col. Robert Ingersoll, whom he always revered despite political differences, Susan B. Anthony and other famous speakers to town. He was elected state representative to the Indiana General Assembly as a Democrat in 1884, while continuing his labor activities. As editor of the Locomotive Firemen's journal for many years, Debs routinely attacked the church, promoted women's and racial equality, and promoted justice for the poor. "If I were hungry and friendless today, I would rather take my chances with a saloon-keeper than with the average preacher," Debs once said (cited in Eugene V. Debs: A Man Unafraid, 1930, by McAlister Coleman). He saved his strongest denunciations for the Roman Catholic Church, for being an anti-democratic, anti-family, authoritarian "political machine."

In June 1893, Debs organized the first industrial union in the United States, the American Railway Union in Chicago, which held a successful 18-day strike against Great Northern Railway the next year. Debs and leaders of the union were arrested during the Pullman Boycott and Strike of 1894, and were sent to jail for contempt of court for 6 months in 1895. An inspired campaigner, Debs ran for president as a candidate of the Socialist Party in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912 and 1920, employing the "Red Special" train to visit America during his 1908 campaign. The irreligious Debs was beloved by many. He was associate editor from 1907-1912 of the Appeal to Reason, a popular weekly published by freethinker E. Haldeman-Julius in Girard, Kansas. In 1918, Debs delivered his famed anti-war speech in Canton, Ohio, in protest of WWI, and was arrested and convicted in federal court under the wartime espionage law. His appeals to the jury and to the court before sentencing went into legal history. Debs was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was disenfranchised for life, losing citizenship. While in prison, he was nominated to run for president and conducted his last campaign, winning nearly a million votes. His opponent, Warren G. Harding, commuted Debs' sentence and released him on Dec. 25, 1921. Debs was welcomed by 1,000 fellow Terre Hauteans upon his return. His health broken by his imprisonment, he died at a sanitarium. The Terre Haute home he built with his wife in 1890 is today a National Historic Landmark of the National Parks Department and a museum. D. 1926.

More: http://debsfoundation.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_V...

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://www.biography.com/people/eugen...

http://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wilson/p...

http://www.ushistory.org/us/37e.asp

http://www.history.com/topics/eugene-...

Reviews

[Ollie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Look, I try my hardest not to hate on books, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

Going in, I was expecting to fully love The Selected Works of Eugene Debs. He’s a fascinating historical figure, has fought for the rights of the disenfranchised, was America’s most prominent socialist, founded the IWW, and ran for president…while being in jail. So, I tried focusing on this book. I really tried. But, soon I found myself dreading spending more time with it.

At the surface there’s nothing particularly wrong with Vol I of his collected works, especially when you put in in context of the greater project of collecting all his writings. Debs is a young whippersnapper at this point and his ideas are just now forming. A 6 volume series would benefit from this stage of this writings at the very least to see how his views have progressed. But this book is 670 pages of essentially the same essay: proclaiming the virtues of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, why striking should only occur when every other means has been exhausted, and what makes a “true honest man” in the late 19th century. It’s these essays over and over and over for 600 pages in tiny font. Sure, at the end Debs discusses other topics like the importance of a reduced workweek, but even these essays cannot make up for the boredom of this book.

What this volume could have benefited from is better editing. I understand Debs might have written a lot in these years but this volume could have been half its size (or even shorter) and no one would have cared. What exactly is going through Davenport’s and Walter’s minds that they think we need this much of the same thing? After about a hundred pages or so, I started to slog and lose concentration and almost started looking at the words instead of reading them. I would then make a concerted effort to pay attention only to have it happen all over again.
I’m sure Debs was a great man and the following volumes will do his memory proud, but avoid this one unless you’re some sort of Debs scholar or completist.

[Sarah Keziah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Holy shit. I could barely get through this. I hope volumn two is better.

[Brando · Rating 3 out of 5]

good if you’re interested in a chronological list of highly contextual essays written for a proto-union of locomotive firemen. Its a well made collection, just not entertaining to read front to back