Eugene V. Debs: Citizen and Socialist (The Working Class in American History) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "FOUNDED IN 1818 on the banks of the Wabash River, Terre Haute drew an early sense of its civic identity from its proximity to Fort..." (more)
Key Phrases: beloved little community, labor plank, locomotive firemen, Terre Haute, New York, American Railway Union (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Eugene Victor Debs was one of the most prominent labor activists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was, perhaps, the most admired openly radical public figure in America's history, running for president on the Socialist ticket in five separate elections, including a 1920 campaign conducted from prison. In the 1912 election, he earned 6 percent of the popular vote (and probably would have gotten more were it not for Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose campaign, which was also running on reform sentiments). Yet today he is largely forgotten, at best a footnote in history texts.

This biography by Professor Nick Salvatore does much to remedy the situation. It is a richly detailed recounting of Debs's life which demonstrates that Debs fit within a historical tradition of dissent in American politics. Although a professed socialist, he never gave up his commitment to democratic ideals; instead, he added to them an awareness of class and the effects of corporate capitalism that has continued relevance today. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

This is biography at its best."
--Eric Foner for the History Book Club

"In this stunning book, Salvatore sets Debs firmly within the central traditions of United States political and social history and depicts, as never before, the triumph and tragedy that characterized the socialist leader's personal and public life."
--American Historical Review

"Nick Salvatore's biography is very solid work. . . . The Debs who emerges is a flawed human being--very flawed--yet an extraordinary person: a man deficient in self-knowledge, as public figures usually are, but also a great tribune."
--New York Review of Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press; 2nd edition (March 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252074521
• ISBN-13: 978-0252074523
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #269,871 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most dangerous man in America!, August 8, 2001

By	"[e-mail]" (Waukesha, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eugene V. Debs: CITIZEN AND SOCIALIST (Working Class in American History) (Paperback)

He was dubbed an undesirable citizen by so-called progressive Teddy Roosevelt. The best biography of Debs to date. It shows his working class background and radical roots in his family. You can see his evolution from democrat and trade unionist to socialist and industrial unionist. His frustration with mainstream politics leads to his trade union agitation. The failure of the AFL railroad brotherhoods to work together spurs him on to create an industrial union of all railroad workers called the American Railway Union. While in jailed in Illinois after the Pullman Strike of 1894 is crushed he becomes a socialist. He helps unites the various factions into the Socialist Party of America in 1901. That same year he merges the broken ARU with the Western Federation of Miners to form the American Labor Union, which adopts socialism. He helps form the Industrial Workers of the World in 1905 which seeks to organize all workers into One Big Union. He leaves the IWW when in rejects politics. During WWI while other socialists give in to nationalism he remains militantly anti-war. In 1917 he refuses to support America's enterance into the war and remains undecided on the Russian Revolution. While in prison for trying to subvert the war effort he recieves over a million votes for president. His party disintegrates in dispute between Hawks and Doves, and reformers and revolutionaries. A fascinating story.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Insider's View, September 29, 2003

By	Dana Garrett - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Eugene V. Debs: CITIZEN AND SOCIALIST (Working Class in American History) (Paperback)

Here you will learn about Debbs the union activist and organizer, Debbs the socialist party organizer and Debbs the husband, brother, friend and lover. And you might get the impression that the advocacy and political activity of Debbs must be measured almost exclusively by the impact it had on the unions, the socialist party and his intimates. I had hoped to read more about Debbs' impact beyond these circles. How did the nation look on Debbs, especially during his presidential campaigns? What did the other major and minor party candidates make of him? These questions remain largely unanswered by the books end.

At times, the book treats Debbs' presidential campaigns almost in passing. The campaigns are not treated as events interesting primarily because of the impact they had on the nation. If the US thought Debbs dangerous enough to incarcerate him during WW1, it is difficult to imagine why a history depicting Debbs' larger political and cultural influence would be difficult to produce.

The book describes well how Debbs framed his leftism in an American voice: how he found within the discourse of individualism a foundation for socialism. But, of course, that direction was all but forgotten after the benighted enthusiasm for the Bolsheviks.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Info on a GREAT Man, November 27, 2000

By	Shelby R. Mood "Anonymous" (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Eugene V. Debs: CITIZEN AND SOCIALIST (Working Class in American History) (Paperback)

The book was clearly not written by an author, but by a researcher. The book has lots of info, but sometimes tends to get off subject, and is sometimes a bit hard to follow. A good read none the less. A very interesting man and that translates into a good book.