Eugene V. Debs Quotes


It is the government that should ask me for a pardon.


Citations

Eugene V. Debs, 1855-1926, Indiana State Legislator (Democrat), Socialist Party Presidential Candidate, Labor Union Leader, Founder of the First Industrial Union, The American Railway Union, Statement upon being released by President Warren G. Harding from a prison sentence for making an anti-government, anti-war speech, 1921

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Eugene V. Debs
Eugene V. Debs
  • Born: November 5, 1855
  • Died: October 20, 1926
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Politician

Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) ("Wobblies") and five times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States. Through his presidential candidacies as well as his work with labor movements, Debs eventually became one of the best-known socialists living in the United States.