Eugene V. Debs

Eugene Victor Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American labor and political leader and five-time Socialist Party candidate for President of the United States.

Rise to prominence

Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana (where he lived most of his life), to middle-class immigrant parents, from Colmar, Alsace. At the age of fourteen, he left home to work on the railroads, becoming a fireman. He returned home in 1874 to work as a grocery clerk, and the next year was a founding member of a new lodge of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen. He rose quickly in the Brotherhood, becoming first an assistant editor for their magazine and then the editor and Grand Secretary (in 1880). At the same time, he became a prominent figure in the community and was elected to the Indiana state legislature (as a Democrat).

Related Topics:
Terre Haute, Indiana - Colmar - Alsace - Railroad - 1874 - Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen - 1880 - Indiana - Democrat

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The railroad brotherhoods were comparatively conservative unions, more focused on providing fellowship and services than in collective bargaining. Debs gradually became convinced of the need for a more unified and confrontational approach. After stepping down as Grand Secretary, he organized, in 1893, the first industrial union in the United States, the American Railway Union (ARU). The Union successfully struck the Great Northern Railway in April 1894, with most of its demands met.

Related Topics:
1893 - Industrial union - American Railway Union - Great Northern Railway - 1894

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~