September 30, 2011

2020-08-13T20:00:42-04:00

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Historians Ernest Freeberg and Lisa Phillips talked about the political career of Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926), who founded several labor unions and represented the Socialist Party of America as candidate for president. He ran five times, the last time from prison in 1920 when he received almost a million votes, and even though he lost he changed political history. Silent film clips of Mr. Debs were shown and a video clip of Senator Bernie Sanders being interviewed about Mr. Debs. The historians responded to telephone calls and electronic communications from the home that Eugene Debs had built in 1890 and lived in until his death.

“The Contenders: They Lost the Election But Changed Political History” is a C-SPAN series of live programs about 14 presidential candidates before 1996 who lost the election but who had a lasting effect on U.S. politics.

Historians Ernest Freeberg and Lisa Phillips talked about the political career of Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926), who founded several labor unions and… read more