Primary Sources: The 1910's: Debbs, Eugene V.

"In 1912, four candidates battled to become President of the United States. Republican incumbent William Howard Taft and Democrat Woodrow Wilson, a moderate governor, represented the two major parties. Former President Theodore Roosevelt, angered over what he felt was a betrayal of his policies by Taft, his hand-picked successor, abandoned the Republican party and founded the Progressive or “Bull Moose” Party. While all four candidates appealed directly to working-class voters, whose votes would prove decisive, by far the most radical platform in the campaign was that of the Socialist Party nominee, Eugene V. Debs. Running for the fourth time, Debs called for the abolition of capitalism rather than for its reform. In this speech accepting the party’s nomination he proclaimed the Socialist Party “the party of progress, the party of the future.” Debs finished last in the contest, receiving 900,000 votes. " GMU History Matters

"The Debs Collection has grown over several decades and contains a wide array of documents and publications concerning Eugene V. Debs, who lived from 1855-1926, his family and circle, socialism, and dissident sociopolitical movements."

"The Debs Collection, which is housed in the Special Collections Department, contains a collection of over 2,300 pamphlets, the majority of which were donated along with scattered periodical issues by the late Oscar Edelman. Additional materials have been received in smaller gifts or through purchases from booksellers such as Bibliomania and Southpaw. Funds for purchases were provided by state appropriations and annual donations from the Eugene V. Debs Foundation, located in Terre Haute, Indiana. " Some pamphlets have been digitized.

A collection of documents & speeches by Debs.

"Socialist leader and four-time presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs was known as one of the most gifted orators of his generation. One listener recalled his impact as “something more powerful, penetrating, and articulate than mere words.” Although Debs apparently never entered a sound studio, a recording of a Debs speech was widely circulated in the first decade of the 20th century. For many years, the speech was believed to have been in Debs' voice, and it was catalogued as such in libraries and record collections. In fact, the speech was written by Debs but recorded by actor Leonard Spencer, who was famous for his recorded versions of comic and dramatic monologues. It was not uncommon in the early days of recording to have actors read the words of politicians. (This was before actors became politicians.) Even if this recording does not give us Debs‘ actual voice, its circulation indicates his popularity. Faithful socialists wanted to be able to listen at home to Debs’ attacks on the rapacious nature of capitalism and his argument that socialism was the only answer to human problems. "

Audio versions of some of Debs' works.

"The Eugene V. Debs Correspondence Collection contains more than 6,000 letters, typescripts, and manuscripts of nearly 1,700 individuals, including Eugene and his brother, Theodore Debs, written between 1874 and 1977. Marguerite Debs Cooper, the daughter of Theodore Debs, made an initial gift of the correspondence in her possession to Indiana State University in 1967."

"A Terre Haute native, Debs was involved in several railroad unions. He is best known for running for President on the Socialist Party ticket and once while incarcerated. Here, he writes to a union member as Grand Secretary of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen."

Contains various articles written by Debs

The McNamara Case and the Labor Movement
by Eugene V. Debs
Published in International Socialist Review, vol. 12, no. 7 (Jan. 1912), pp. 397-401.

"The Vision of the People's House,"
by Eugene V. Debs
First published in The New York Call, vol. 10, no. 245 (Sept. 2, 1917), pg. 8.

"A Word to the Workers!"
by Eugene V. Debs
Published by The New York Call, New York City, circa September 1920