Greetings!
It’s
not quite February 23 yet, but as a reminder, I’ll be presenting my epic paper,
“Eugene V. Debs: the ‘Forgotten Red Saint,’” at the Phi Alpha Theta regional
conference. Below is the groovy abstract for this awesome upcoming
presentation.
But
you might be wondering why the heck did I choose to study Debs? Well, honestly,
it was a while ago, and the whole story I do not recall. But long story short, I
opted to investigate a remarkable figure who’s been obscured in the shadows of
history.
“Eugene V. Debs: The Forgotten Red Saint’”
The late nineteenth century witnessed the emergence of the post-Civil War American industrial machine bathed in the ills of abused labor. The presidential election year 1912 witnessed three epic candidates: the incumbent President William Taft, the idealistic Woodrow Wilson and that most famous of third party candidates, the charismatic Theodore Roosevelt. A fourth and equally epic candidate lurked in the shadows: Eugene Debs. This forgotten “Red Saint” represented a convergence of American workingmen with reformers and the most significant departure to date of voters to true socialism in an American election. Debs personified important underground socialist forces, and he steered a new labor current in American politics.
Debs’s
strong personal appeal yielded one million votes for a socialist candidate in the
paramount election year 1912. Beginning with bold utopian dreams to unify labor
and transform industry leadership, Debs had experienced a conversion to
socialism which catapulted him to effect greater change than mere union collaboration.
Primary sources documenting Debs’ achievements and labor’s emerging electoral
power include contemporary New York, New England and Midwestern newspaper
coverage, years’ worth of Debs’s Socialist Party treatises and his prolific
letters. Authoritative historians of nineteenth century America and current
scholars of American socialism comprised the secondary resources.
Thanks a ton for
reading. Please tell me what you think. If you’d like any additional
information on the PhAT conference, contact Dr. Cynthia Bisson (Dr. Mrs.
Bisson). Or if you’re also a PhAT member presenting at the conference, you can
post your amazing abstracts as well!
MML, HI
