Debs, Eugene Victor (1855–1926), a United States socialist. He ran for President five times—the last time while in prison. Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. When 14, he quit school to work for a railway. Later, he took a job with a wholesale grocery. In 1874, while still in the grocery business, he became secretary of the Terre Haute lodge of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen. In 1880, he was chosen national secretary-treasurer of the brotherhood. Debs also became active in politics as a Democrat, winning two terms as city clerk of Terre Haute and, in 1885, a seat in the Indiana legislature.
In 1893, Debs formed the American Railway Union, hoping it would include all of the nation's railway workers. Against his advice, Debs's union in 1894 decided to help the workers on strike at the Pullman Company plant near Chicago by calling a strike against all trains carrying Pullman cars. The strike was broken by federal troops and court injunctions, the union was ruined, and Debs was sentenced to a six-month jail term for contempt of court. His reading in jail eventually led him to become a socialist, a fact he announced in 1897.
In 1900, as the Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic party, he polled 87,814 votes. This party then became the Socialist party. Debs was its candidate for President in 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920.
Debs was in a federal prison during the 1920 election, serving a 10-year sentence for a speech he made protesting American involvement in World War I. He won 919,799 votes for President that year. President Harding commuted his sentence, freeing him in 1921. Debs continued to advocate socialism until his death. His gentle ways and appealing oratory made him greatly admired even by those who opposed his ideas.
