Daniel De Leon

Daniel De Leon ( born December 14, 1852 in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, † May 11, 1914 in New York City ) was an American socialist.

Biography

De Leon emigrated in 1874 from the Netherlands Antilles in the United States and soon became one of the leading propagandists of socialism in the early U.S. labor movement, with its uncompromising views were considered critical. In 1886 he was one of the supporters of Henry George in his candidacy for the office of mayor of New York.

In 1890, he joined the Socialist Labor Party and quickly became one of the leaders of the Party and editor of the party organ The People. Through his leadership, he helped that the SLP was to a restructured national organization. On the other hand, the SLP has been increasingly influenced by communism, so that liberal- moderate party members such as Charles Sotheran were excluded because of their views from the party.

After he had criticized the leadership of the labor movement ( Knights of Labor ) as radical enough, he was founder and chairman of the 1895 split of the Knights of Labor Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance ( STLA ). 1899 a breakaway faction left the SLP and founded a new movement, from 1901, which was founded by Eugene V. Debs Socialist Party of America emerged. In the following years there was a decline in membership and role of SLP. 1903 De Leon described in an article in the railway companies as imperium in imperio.

1905 De Leon was merged to the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World ( IWW) in Chicago, with which the STLA shortly thereafter. On the IWW Congress, 1908 it however a delegate seat was denied by the radical wing, who opposed his political views and violent prepared tactics preferred. For this reason he founded based on the SLP program called Detroit IWW as a counterpoint to the original Chicago IWW. Among the first members of the native of Germany William E. Trautmann, who worked as an organizer of the union in the aftermath belonged.

According to De Leon's death, the Detroit IWW in 1915 was renamed the Workers' International Industrial Union ( WIIU ), which was finally dissolved in 1925.

In his political philosophy, he took the view that the Government should not nationalize under the leadership of a party of the working class the industry. Rather, his goal was the direct democratic control of all industries and services through the combined in an industrial union workers. His political views were the basis for the De Leonismus.