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Eugene V. Debs

Eugene V. Debs Books

Political leader

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“Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

InspirationalHumanityFreedomCompassionInequalityKinshipRadicalismSubversion
Book:Debs: His Life, Writings and Speeches
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“Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

YearsMindMadeSaidSoulEarthBitsClassHonorElementsYears AgoPrisonCriminalsKinshipCommonalityLower ClassYour Honor
Author:Eugene V. Debs
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“I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence.”

MenDoeEnoughPoliticalOrderSocialWomenMoneyExistenceMillionsMen And WomenDollarsFortuneSocialismSecureInequalityOppositionOne ManSocialistWretchedOpposingAbsolutely NothingSocial OrderHoardingFeudalismFeudal System
Author:Eugene V. Debs
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“Ten thousand times has the labor movement stumbled and bruised itself. We have been enjoined by the courts, assaulted by thugs, charged by the militia, traduced by the press, frowned upon in public opinion, and deceived by politicians. 'But notwithstanding all this and all these, labor is today the most vital and potential power this planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as certain of ultimate realization as is the setting of the sun.”

Has BeensTodayPoliticalCertainPoliticsKnownOpinionSunMovementPlanetsPoliticianThousandTenLaborUltimateCourtPressesMissionsSettingSettingsRealizationHistoricPublic OpinionDeceivedThugMilitiaBruisedLabor MovementOrganized LaborLabour Movement
Author:Eugene V. Debs
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“If you go to the city of Washington, and you examine the pages of the Congressional Directory, you will find that almost all of those corporation lawyers and cowardly politicians, members of Congress, and misrepresentatives of the masses - you will find that almost all of them claim, in glowing terms, that they have risen from the ranks to places of eminence and distinction. I am very glad that I cannot make that claim for myself. I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks, and not from the ranks.”

IfsWould BePoliticsTermCitiesPoliticianMembersMassClaimsCongressLawyerGladCorporationsAshamedDistinctionRepresentativesGlowingRisenCowardlyLabor UnionEminence
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“Yes, I am my brother's keeper. I am under a moral obligation to him that is inspired, not by any maudlin sentimentality but by the higher duty I owe myself. What would you think me if I were capable of seating myself at a table and gorging myself with food and saw about me the children of my fellow beings starving to death?”

IfsThinkingChildrenHelpingMoralSawsBrotherDutyHigherMoralityCapableFellowsTablesInspiredHuman RightsHelping OthersObligationMy BrotherStarvingKeepersSentimentalityVolunteerismMoral ObligationMoral Duty
Author:Eugene V. Debs
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“They have always taught and trained you to believe it to be your patriotic duty to go to war and to have yourselves slaughtered at their command. But in all the history of the world you, the people, have never had a voice in declaring war, and strange as it certainly appears, no war by any nation in any age has ever been declared by the people.”

PeopleWorldBelieveWarAgeNationsPeaceVoiceMilitaryTaughtStrangeDutyCommandPatrioticAntiwarWorld HistoryNo WarDeclaringDeclaring War
Author:Eugene V. Debs
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“They tell us that we live in a great free republic; that our institutions are democratic; that we are a free and self-governing people. That is too much, even for a joke. ... Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder... And that is war in a nutshell. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.”

PeopleHas BeensWarSelfFreedomLibertyClassToo MuchSubjectsMastersBattleJokesInstitutionsDemocraticRepublicAntiwarConquestGoverningPlunder
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“Every one of the aristocratic conspirators and would-be murderers claims to be an arch-patriot; every one of them insists that the war is being waged to make the world safe for democracy. What humbug! What rot! What false pretense! These... tyrants, these red-handed robbers and murderers, the "patriots," while the men who have the courage to stand face to face with them, speak the truth, and fight for their exploited victims - they are [called] the disloyalists and traitors. If this be true, I want to take my place side by side with the traitors in this fight.”

IfsMenWorldWantWarWould BeFacesFightingSpeakSidesDemocracyHe ManSafeRedClaimsVictimBeing TrueTyrantsAntiwarSolitaryPatriotMurdererFace To FacePretenseSpeak The TruthTraitorRobbersArchesAristocraticHumbugConspirators
Author:Eugene V. Debs
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“Speaking of myself, I was made to realize long ago that the old trade union was utterly incompetent to deal successfully with the exploiting corporations in this struggle. I was made to see that in craft unionism the capitalist class have it within their power to keep the workers divided, to use one part of them to conquer and crush another part of them. Indeed, I was made to see that the old form of unionism separates the workers and keeps them helpless at the mercy of their masters.”

LongMadeUseFormRealizingDealsClassStruggleMastersMercyTradeUnionsWorkersCraftsConquerCorporationsCrushDividedCapitalistLong AgoHelplessIncompetentTrade UnionsUnionism
Author:Eugene V. Debs
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