Eugene V. Debs

Eugene Victor Debs ( born November 5, 1855 in Terre Haute, Indiana, † October 20, 1926 in Elmhurst, Illinois) was an American socialist who was active in the labor movement, and five times for the Socialist Party of America for President of the U.S. President candidate.

Life

Early life

Debs ' parents who were middle class, were immigrants from Alsace, Colmar, who had settled in Terre Haute, where Debs also spent most of his life. At the age of 14, he left the place to work at various railways as a fireman. Five years later he returned to Terre Haute, where he worked in a grocery store as a clerk. In 1875 he became a founding member of the local department of the railway brotherhood of firemen. There he quickly rose in the hierarchy and became first deputy editor of its magazine and editor in 1880 and General Secretary. At the same time he was elected to the local policy and known as a Democrat in the House of Representatives from Indiana.

From a trade union perspective, the railway brotherhoods were comparatively conservative, with its focus more on social aspects as well as services for their members, rather than on collective bargaining. Also Debs originally followed this line and advocated not the big strikes of 1877. Debs revised, in light of the poor working conditions of railway, this setting later and became convinced that the demand would be for a more uniform and konfrontationalistische operation. He resigned as General Secretary in 1893 and founded the first industrial union in the U.S., the American Railway Union ( ARU American Railway Union, or ). This union resulted in April 1894 by a strike action against the Great Northern Railway, in which most of their demands were met.

Pullman Strike

Debs also participated in the Pullman Strike in May 1894. This wildcat strike grew out of the debate over the compensation paid to those workers who had made ​​the cars of the Pullman Palace Car Company. The Pullman Company had reduced owing Einkunftseinbrüchen after the economic downturn of 1893, the wages of their workers by 28 percent and lay off many workers. The workers, many of whom are already members of the American Railway Union ( ARU) were, the union called at their meeting in Chicago for support. Debs tried to convince me that a sympathy strike would be too risky, given the hostility of the railway company and the federal government, the weakness of the American Railway Union and the risk that other unions would break the strike, the union members. The ARU ignored his warnings and refused to Pullman trains or rank associated with them wagons, including those cars which transported post. Debs decided to change course to participate in the strike, which was worn by almost all members of the ARU in the Chicago area. The strikers put under Debs ' leadership through boycott of Pullman cars. Despite his initial quarreling the strike under the name " Debs ' Rebellion " was known.

The federal government intervened and now the Attorney-General procured on July 2 in federal court with the help of the Sherman Antitrust Act to ban any strike pay by the railway workers' union. This injunction was justified by the fact that the strikers had obstructed the railroad company, by they would not show up for work. Finally it came to the use of Army units, on the grounds that the strike is hindering the delivery of mail. This provoked a violent reaction of the strikers, who until then had remained peaceful. The walkout cost a total of 13 lives, 57 were injured. The damage to property was estimated at 80 million U.S. dollars. Union leader Debs and other ARU leaders were accused of being " conspirators " and found the failure of postal traffic guilty. Debs was sentenced to six months in prison. On August 2, 1894, the strike was over. The Pullman Company began operating again, but did not set strike leaders. The workers had to sign afterwards, no longer to unionize.

Socialist leader

This experience radicalized Debs even further: Was it before the strike still not a socialist, he read in his captivity, the works of Karl Marx and began to get excited about for socialism. He was a candidate for president, first in 1900 as a member of the American Socialist Party, later the Socialist Party in 1904, 1908, 1912 and 1920.

However, Debs was the election process against critical and suspicious of the political concessions that were forced to make Victor Berger and other socialists. Debs on the other hand put more emphasis on the organization of the workers, especially in industry. However, Debs also rejected the apolitical syndicalism, which was partially maintained in the organization Industrial Workers of the World. Although he supported the IWW initially, he was later on her, as he thought, irresponsible advocacy of direct action, in particular the use of sabotage, horrified.

Writings

• Debs. His Life, Writings and Speeches. University Press of the Pacific, 2002, ISBN 1-4102-0154-6.
• Gentle Rebel. Letters of Eugene V. Debs. Letters, edited by J. Robert Constantine. University of Illinois Press, 1995, ISBN 0-252-06324-4
• Walls & Bars. Prisons & Prison Life In The "Land Of The Free ". Charles H. Kerr, 1983, ISBN 0-88286-010-0 ( 2000 edition: ISBN 0-88286-248-0 )
• The papers of Eugene V. Debs, 1834-1945. A guide to the microfilm edition. Microfilming Corporation of America, 1983, ISBN 0-667-00699-0.