Spirit of America Bookstore
Eugene V. Debs
[1855-1926]
 | short profile | ![portrait of Eugene V. Debs [1855-1926], circa 1912](images/eugenevictordebs-portrait-1912.jpg "portrait of Eugene V. Debs [1855-1926], circa 1912") |
"If it had not been for the discontent of a few fellows who had not been satisfied with their conditions, you would still be living in caves.
Intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization. Progress is born of agitation. It is agitation or stagnation."
"In every age it has been the tyrant, the oppressor, and the exploiter who has wrapped himself in the cloak
of patriotism, or religion, or both to deceive and overawe the people."
"I'd rather vote for something [that] I want and not get it than vote for something [that] I don't want and get it."
"I have no country to fight for. My country is the Earth. I am a citizen of the world."
"I have never advocated violence in any form. I have always believed in education, in intelligence, in enlightenment;
and I have always made my appeal to the reason and . . . conscience of the people."
"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 on earth . . .
While there is a lower class, I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."
"Men do not shrink from work, but from slavery. The man who works primarily for the benefit of another
does so only from compulsion, and work so done is the very essence of slavery."
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A founder of the International Workers of The World (the "Wobblies")
In 1990, the U.S. Department of Labor named Debs a member of its Labor Hall of Fame.
listed among The Nation Magazine's 50 Most Influential Progressives, Sept 2010
included in Peter Dreier's 2013 book about "100 Greatest Americans of the Twentieth Century"
Eugene V. Debs Foundation [est. 1962] based in Terre Haute, Indiana
Eugene V. Debs entry at Wikipedia
browse books at Eugene V. Debs Store (only 6 titles) at Amazon
search books on keywords 'Eugene+V.+Debs' {returns 100+ titles} at Amazon
Works by Eugene V. Debs
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browse books at Eugene V. Debs Store (only 6 titles) at Amazon
"Striking For Life: Labor's Side of The Labor Question - The Right of The Workingman To A Fair Living"
[American Mfg. & Publng Co. 1894] by Samuel Gompers, Eugene V. Debs, John Swinton & John William Hayes
"Debs: His Life, Writings and Speeches" [1908] by Eugene Victor Debs
http://www.amazon.com/Debs-His-Life-Writings-Speeches/dp/B002WTPA1Q/
"Labor and Freedom: The Voice and Pen of Eugene V. Debs" [March 1916]
http://www.amazon.com/Labor-Freedom-Eugene-V-Debs/dp/1496037049/
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34012/34012-h/34012-h.htm
"Walls & Bars: Prisons & Prison Life In The 'Land of The Free' " [Socialist Party, 1927] by Eugene V. Debs
http://www.amazon.com/Walls-Bars-Prisons-Prison-Life/dp/0882862480/
http://www.amazon.com/Walls-Bars-Eugene-Victor-Debs/dp/B001HWFNZM/
"Eugene V. Debs Speaks" [1970]
http://www.amazon.com/Eugene-Debs-Speaks-eugene-debs/dp/B005H4ZK9A/
"The Papers of Eugene V. Debs, 1834-1945: A Guide To The Microfilm Edition" [Microfilming Corp. of America, 1983]
Edited by J. Robert Constantine & Gail Malmgreen
 | "Letters of Eugene V. Debs - In Three Volumes" [1990] Edited by J. Robert Constantine Volume 1: 1874-1912, Volume 2: 1913-1919, Volume 3: 1919-1926 Univ Illinois Press 9½x6½ hardcover [12/90] out of print/60+ used |
 | "Gentle Rebel: Letters of Eugene V. Debs" [1995] Edited by J. Robert Constantine Univ Illinois Press ABRIDGED 9¼x6 pb [6/95] out of print/used Univ Illinois Press 9½x6½ hardcover [6/95] out of print/used |
 | "Eugene V. Debs Reader: Socialism and The Class Struggle" [2000] Edited by William A. Pelz, original Introduction by Howard Zinn [1922-2010], New Introduction by Mark A. Lause Essays, articles, letters, and speeches include: The Martyred Apostles of Labor; Prison Labour; How I Became A Socialist; What's The Matter With Chicago?; The Negro In Class Struggle; The Negro and His Nemesis; The Socialist Party and The Working Class; An Ideal Labour Press; The Crimson Standard; Revolutionary Unionism; John Brown: History's Greatest Hero; Mother Jones; Thomas McGrady; Revolution; Letter From Debs On Immigration; Working Class Politics; Danger Ahead; The Crisis In Mexico; Sound Socialist Tactics; Speech of Acceptance; A Plea For solidarity; The Gunman and The Miners; Knights of Columbus; The Prospect For Peace; Politicians and Priests; Ruling Class Robbers; The I.W.W. Bogey; The Canton, Ohio Speech; Address To The Jury; Statement To The Court; The Day of The People; 'Preacher Sheriff' Hangs Victim; Woman - Comrade - Equal; Sacco and Vanzetti; and The Negro Workers Merlin Press, U.K. 8½x5½ pb [3/2014] for $23.75 Institute of Working Class History 8¼x5¼ pb [11/2000] out of print/used |
 | "Writings of Eugene V. Debs, 1888-1925: A Collection of Essays By America's Most Famous Socialist" [2009] Compiled by Red and Black Publishers of Florida
Kindle Edition from Red & Black Publrs [5/2009] for $9.99 Red & Black Publrs 9x6 pb [1/2009] for $12.99 |
"Talks With Debs In Terre Haute" [2012] by David Karsner
http://www.amazon.com/Talks-Terre-Haute-David-Karsner-ebook/dp/B00AESMADS/
 | "The Works of Eugene Victor Debs" for Kindle [2013]
Kindle Edition from The Perfect Library [6/2013] for $2.99 {sic} includes seven works by Eugene V. Debs: article "The Common Laborer" [April 1890]; article "The Crimson Standard" [1905]; article "Political Appeal To American Workers" [June 1912]; "Labor and Freedom" book [March 1916]; article "Politicians and Preachers" [June 1916]; "Speech of Sedition" [June 1918]; and "Statement To The Court" [Sept 1918] |
Eugene V. Debs article "The Common Laborer" [April 1890]
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Common_Laborer
Eugene V. Debs article "How I Became A Socialist" in The Comrade, April 1902
http://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/works/1902/howi.htm
Eugene V. Debs's 'Speech at the Founding of The I.W.W.' [June 1905]
http://www.vlib.us/amdocs/texts/debs1905.html
Eugene V. Debs article "The Crimson Standard" [1905]
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Crimson_Standard
Eugene V. Debs article "Political Appeal To American Workers" [June 1912]
http://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/works/1912/1912-appeal.htm
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Political_Appeal_to_American_Workers
Eugene V. Debs article "Politicians and Preachers" [June 1916]
http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/parties/spusa/1916/0624-debs-polsandpreachers.pdf
Eugene V. Debs's "Speech of Sedition" [June 1918]
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Debs'_Speech_of_Sedition
Eugene V. Debs's 'Statement To The Court Upon Being Convicted of Violating The Sedition Act' [September 1918]
http://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/works/1918/court.htm
 | "Eugene V. Debs Speaks" [1970] Edited by Jean Y. Tussey, with an Introduction by James P. Cannon thirty selected works, spoken or written Pathfinder Press 8¼x5¼ pb [7/94] for $17.00 Pathfinder Press hardcover [1970] out of print/used |
Works About Eugene V. Debs
search books on keywords 'Eugene+V.+Debs' {returns 100+ titles} at Amazon
"Eugene V. Debs: A Man Unafraid" [Greenberg, 1930] by McAlister Coleman
"Adversary In The House" [Doubleday 1947] by Irving Stone
"Gene Debs: The Story of A Fighting American" [1948] by Herbert M. Morais
http://www.amazon.com/Gene-Debs-story-fighting-American/dp/B0007GSNVA/
"Eugene Debs: American Socialist" [1974] by Anne Terry White
http://www.amazon.com/Eugene-Debs-Anne-Terry-White/dp/0882080458/
 | "Eugene V. Debs: Spokesman For Labor and Socialism" [1978] by Bernard J. Brommel, Foreword by David Shannon Charles H. Kerr Publng 9x6 pb [12/78] out of print/used Charles H. Kerr Publng 9x6¼ hardcover [12/78] out of print/many used |
 | "Eugene V. Debs: Citizen and Socialist" biography [1982] by Nick Salvatore Univ Illinois Press 2nd edition 8¾x6 pb [3/2007] for $24.70 Univ Illinois Press 9x6 pb [9/84] out of print/40+ used Univ Illinois Press 9x6 hardcover [12/82] out of print/used |
 | "The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene V. Debs" [1992] by Ray Ginger
Haymarket Books 8¼x5½ pb [2007] for $13.41 Truman State Univ Press 9x6 hardcover [1992] out of print/used |
"Harp Song For A Radical: The Life and Times of Eugene Victor Debs" [9/1999] by Marguerite Young
http://www.amazon.com/Harp-Song-Radical-Eugene-Victor/dp/0679427570/
 | "Democracy's Prisoner: Eugene V. Debs, The Great War, and The Right To Dissent" [2008] by Ernest Freeberg Kindle Edition from Harvard Univ Press [6/2009] for $9.99 Harvard Univ Press 8¾x5¾ pb [11/2010] for $18.79 Harvard Univ Press 9¼x6½ hardcover [5/2008] out of print/used |
"Debs and The Poets" [June 2009] by Ruth Le Prade
http://www.amazon.com/Debs-Poets-Ruth-Prade/dp/1110436068/
http://www.amazon.com/Debs-Poets-Ruth-Prade/dp/1406762091/
 | "Against The Grain: Six Men Who Shaped America" [2014] by Robert Underhill Six biographies, averaging 30 pages each: labor leader Eugene Debs, oddball Ignatius Donnelly, Sen. Robert M. La Follette, Sen. George W. Norris, Theodore Roosevelt, and U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace Algora Publng 9x6 pb [2/2014] for $21.00 Algora Publng 9¼x6¼ hardcover [2/2014] for $20.16 |
 | "The Edge of Anarchy: The Railroad Barons, The Gilded Age, and The Greatest Labor Uprising In America" [2019] by Jack Kelly Eugene V. Debs and his new railway labor union protested wage cuts and raised prices at the mandatory company store at George Pullman's factory in Chicago; the Pullman Strike nearly shut down interstate commerce and brought out the U.S. Army to force striking workers to go back to work. Kindle Edition from St. Martin's Press [1/2019] for $14.99 St. Martin's Press 9¾x6½ hardcover [1/2019] for $15.99 |
Movies & TV, Stageplays, Other Media
"The Contenders" [C-SPAN Sept-Dec 2011]
 | "They ran and lost but changed political history" • Original series of sixteen 90-minute color episodes (archive footage often b&w); panelists include Paul Clement, Brian Lamb, David Pietrusza, Amity Shlaes, Peter Slen, historian Richard Norton Smith & Susan Swain; subjects/contenders are Historians' Preview; Henry Clay; James G. Blaine; William Jennings Bryan; Eugene Debs (ran 5 times); Charles Evans Hughes; Al Smith; Wendell Willkie; Thomas E. Dewey; Adlai Stevenson; Barry Goldwater; Hubert Humphrey; George Wallace; George McGovern; Ross Perot; and Historians' Retrospective • DVD/Blu-ray not available
series credits at IMDb • C-SPAN series homepage • series entry at Wikipedia watch Episode 5: Eugene Debs [1:30:35] at C-SPAN |
Family & Friends
Eugene Victor Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1855; he died at age 70 in 1926 at a hospital in Elmhurst, Illinois.
wife Kate Metzel Debs [] - married 1885, widowed 1926
L i n k s
Eugene V. Debs Foundation [est. 1962] based in Terre Haute, Indiana
Eugene V. Debs entry at Wikipedia
Debs' Red Ale is named after Eugene V. Debs {produced by Bell's Beer [est. 1985] of Kalamazoo, Michigan}
Eugene Porter is named after Eugene V. Debs {produced by Revolution Brewing Company [est. 2010] of Chicago, Illinois}
http://www.iww.org/culture/biography/EugeneDebs1.shtml Eugene Debs on the IWW Memorial Page
here on the Eugene V. Debs [1855-1926] Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page • short profile • works by Eugene V. Debs • works about Eugene V. Debs • movies, plays, other media • family & friends • links
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