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Black and white photo of Eugene Debs being released from an Atlanta federal prison on Christmas Day, 1921.

The American Socialism That Might Have Been

Despite their minority status, the Socialists had been a significant force in American politics before patriotic war hysteria brought on an era of repression.
by Adam Hochschild via The Nation on October 12, 2022
Black and white photo of Eugene V. Debs addressing a crowd at the Hippodrome Theatre, New York City.

Socialists on the Knife-Edge

American Democratic Socialism has deep roots in the very “American” values it is accused of undermining.
by Hari Kunzru via New York Review of Books on July 28, 2022
Eugene Debs in a suit

Eugene Debs Believed in Socialism Because He Believed in Democracy

Eugene Debs’s unswerving commitment to democracy and internationalism was born out of his revulsion at the tyranny of industrial capitalism.
by Shawn Gude via Jacobin on September 2, 2020

The Socialist Party in New Deal–Era America

The 1930s Socialist Party is often seen as a marginal force, but its successes laid the groundwork for the next generation of organizing.
by Shawn Gude, Jack Altman via Jacobin on October 1, 2019

Repressing Radicalism

The Espionage Act turns 100 today. It helped destroy the Socialist Party of America and quashes free speech to this day.
by Chip Gibbons via Jacobin on June 15, 2017
Ben Davis Jr. leaving courthouse, surrounded by crowd carrying signs bearing various slogans.

In 1930s NYC, Proportional Representation Boosted the Left

NYC history suggests that the Left might profitably revive proportional representation as a tool to build its electoral strength.
by Trevor Goodwin via Jacobin on January 26, 2025
CPUSA members demonstrate in Union Square on May Day, ca. 1930s.

Maurice Isserman’s Red Scare

A new history of the CPUSA reads like a Cold War throwback.
by Benjamin Balthaser via The Baffler on November 21, 2024
Crowd marching on Wall Street.

Nationalize the Banks

Grassroots support for public banks early in the 20th century revealed the popularity of socialism-aligned economic ideas.
by Christopher W. Shaw via Catalyst on September 20, 2024
Eugene V. Debs delivers an antiwar speech in Canton, Ohio, June 16, 1918.

The Unsung History of Heartland Socialism

The spirit of socialism has coursed through the American Midwest ever since the movement emerged, continuing to animate the political landscape today.
by Miles Kampf-Lassin via In These Times on August 30, 2024
Charles Francis Phillips and Owen Cattell, two Columbia University students, seated.

In 1917, Columbia’s Clampdown Remade the Antiwar Movement

When police raided Columbia University in May, commentators drew parallels to the 1968. But the school’s hostility to the antiwar movement traces back to 1917.
by Dan La Botz via Jacobin on July 11, 2024
Trump holding a document, against the backdrop of text defining espionage.

The Espionage Act is Bad for America—Even When it’s Used on Trump

A relic of WWI that helped destroy the anti-war left, it remains a threat to news outlets, political organizers, and challengers of the surveillance state.
by Alex Skopic via Current Affairs on July 13, 2023
Eugene Debs with Texas and Oklahoma socialists, c. 1910–14.

Texas Was Once a Hotbed of Socialism

In the early 1900s heyday of the Socialist Party, Texas boasted a vibrant state party that attracted oppressed farmers in droves.
by Thomas Alter II, Yaseen Al-Sheikh via Jacobin on April 21, 2023
Illustration of Abraham Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation.

Abraham Lincoln Is a Hero of the Left

Leftists have regarded Lincoln as a pro-labor hero who helped vanquish chattel slavery. We should celebrate him today within the radical democratic tradition.
by Matthew E. Stanley via Jacobin on February 20, 2023
Eugene Debs Presidential Campaign flyer from 1912, featuring his running mate Emil Seidel.

“American Democratic Socialism” Has a Proud, Diverse, and Inspiring History

A sweeping new history weaves personal, intellectual, and spiritual narratives into a book that reminds us of the potential of the socialist movement.
by Matt McManus via Current Affairs on February 14, 2023
Kevin McCarthy, left, Ilhan Omar, center, and Adam B. Schiff, right.
partner

History Exposes Another Motive for Kicking Key Democrats Off Committees

By removing Reps. Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell and Ilhan Omar, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would remove obstacles to his agenda.
by Josh Kluever via Made By History on January 24, 2023
Eugene Debs speaking to a crowd.

A Brief History of American Socialism

A look at socialism’s far-reaching influence on American thought.
by Michael Kazin via Literary Hub on January 5, 2023
Photograph of author Mike Davis.

Mike Davis Revisits His 1986 Labor History Classic, Prisoners of the American Dream

The late socialist writer's first book was a deep exploration of how the US labor movement became so weakened.
by Mike Davis, Daniel Denvir via Jacobin on October 31, 2022
Black and white photo of communists marching in front of the White House to demand the release of the Scottsboro Boys.

The Civil Rights Movement Was Radical to Its Core

The Civil Rights Movement was a radical struggle against Jim Crow tyranny whose early foot soldiers were Communists and labor militants.
by Glenda Gilmore, Robert Greene II via Jacobin on August 28, 2022
Photo of Theresa Malkiel

The Forgotten Woman Behind International Women’s Day

Theresa Malkiel fled persecution in Russia and ended up in a New York sweatshop.
by Gillian Brockell via Retropolis on March 8, 2022
Eugene V. Debs, in prison clothes, flanked by Socialist party leaders.

Free Speech Wasn't So Free 103 Years Ago

When 'seditious' and 'unpatriotic' speech was criminalized in the U.S.
by Eric Robinson via The Conversation on May 13, 2021
"We the People"; US Constitution

It Would Be Great if the United States Were Actually a Democracy

The pervasive mythmaking about the supposed wisdom of the founders has covered up a central truth: the US Constitution is an antidemocratic mess.
by Aziz Rana, Chris Maisano via Jacobin on February 16, 2021
James Baldwin smoking at a table in the South of France in November 1979.

The Socialism of James Baldwin

By the end of his life, inspired by the radicalism of the Black Panthers, Baldwin was again ready to proclaim himself a socialist.
by Arvind Dilawar via Jacobin on January 2, 2021
Black and white STFU members including Myrtle Lawrence and Ben Lawrence listen to Norman Thomas speak outside Parkin, Arkansas, on September 12, 1937. Louise Boyle / Kheel Center

When Black Sharecroppers in the South Rose Up

In the 1930s, Socialist and Communist organizers tried to help Black sharecroppers rise up against their oppressors.
by Arvind Dilawar, Nan Elizabeth Woodruff via Jacobin on July 7, 2020
Mugshot of Eugene Debs

Eugene Debs Was an American Hero

He forced the country to engage in a three-year conversation about the meaning of free speech that shaped policy and law after World War I.
by Shawn Gude, Ernest Freeberg via Jacobin on June 16, 2020

When Socialism Was Tried in America—and Was a Smashing Success

For much of the 20th century, Milwaukee was run by socialists — and Time magazine called it “one of the best-run cities in the U.S.”
by John Nichols via The Nation on April 2, 2019

The Ballot and the Break

Minnesota’s Farmer-Labor Party, the most successful labor party in US history, is rich in lessons for challenging the two-party system.
by Eric Blanc via Jacobin on December 4, 2017

Marx in the United States

A conversation with the author of a forthcoming book about the twists and turns of Marx's legacy in America.
by Andrew Hartman, Magnus Møller Ziegler, Tobias Dias via U.S. Intellectual History Blog on October 4, 2017

The History of National Women's History Month

The celebratory month has its roots in the socialist and labor movements.
by Julia Zorthian via TIME on February 29, 2016
Painting imagining John Brown (bearded man embracing Black child), being escorted by authorities.

Eugene Debs’s Stirring, Never-Before-Published Eulogy to John Brown at Harpers Ferry

In 1908, Eugene Debs eulogized John Brown as America's "greatest liberator," vowing the Socialist Party would continue Brown's work. We publish it here in full.
by Eugene V. Debs via Jacobin on October 1, 1908
Antiwar march on October 31, 1970. Marchers holding a banner reading "Chicano Power" and "Remember Reuben Salazar."

Mapping American Social Movements

Interactive maps showing the historical geography of influential American social movements since the late 19th century.
by Civil Rights History Consortium via University of Washington
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