Debs Presentation Abstract

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