Eugene V. Debs

Eugene Victor Debs was a famous leader for workers in America.

He was born on November 5, 1855, in Terre Haute, Indiana. His parents came from France to live in the United States. As a boy, he left school when he was only 14 years old. He started working for the Vandalia Railroad to earn money.

He worked as a painter and a car cleaner. Later, he became a locomotive fireman. He worked on the trains running between Terre Haute and Indianapolis. This early work on the rails shaped his whole life.

Debs spent many years working with labor groups. He joined the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen in 1875. He eventually became an editor for their magazine. At first, he believed that workers and owners could be friends. He wanted peace and respect between them. However, his ideas began to change after a strike in 1888. He saw that workers needed more strength to be heard.

He helped start the American Railway Union to unite many different workers. This was one of the first large industrial unions in the country.

In 1894, a massive event called the Pullman Strike began.

Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company had their pay cut. Many of these workers joined Debs in his union. They decided to stop handling Pullman train cars to protest. This strike affected more than 250,000 workers across 27 states. The strike grew so large that it reached many different railroad lines. President Grover Cleveland sent the U.S. Army to stop the workers. The army helped end the strike, but it also led to Debs being sent to prison.

While Debs was in a jail in Woodstock, Illinois, his life changed.

He spent his time reading many books about socialism. Socialism is the idea that resources and wealth should be shared more fairly. He read works by authors like Karl Kautsky and Edward Bellamy. He also met a man named Victor L. Berger in jail.

When he left prison, he was a committed socialist. He helped found the Socialist Party of America in 1901. He became one of the most well-known socialists in the nation.

Debs was a very talented speaker who could move large crowds.

He ran for President of the United States five different times. He ran in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920. In 1912, he earned 6.0 percent of the popular vote. He was even running for president from a prison cell in 1920. Later, he was arrested again for a speech about World War I. He was released from prison in 1921 by President Warren G. Harding. Debs died in 1926 after having heart problems.