Who is Eugene Debs?
Eugene Debs (1855-1926) was a famous American labor organizer and activist. He is often credited with being a vital force in the American labor movement, and he was certainly prominent in a number of America labor organizations at the turn of the 20th century. Debs was also a remarkably forward thinking man who was often commended for his generosity, sensitivity, and strong convictions. Debs was born in Terra Haute, Indiana to French immigrants, and he lived much of his life in the state of Indiana. His first job was in a railyard, and he worked in a variety of positions within the railroad industry before being laid off in 1873 and returning to Terra Haute to work as a grocery clerk. Debs’ early associations with the railroad industry undoubtedly laid the groundwork for his emergence as a prominent labor activist, and the first signs of this emerged when he participated in the founding of a local chapter of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Fireman. In 1884, Eugene Debs was elected to the
