In Re Debs - Significance, The "debs Rebellion", Debs Tried For Conspiracy, Debs' Political Career Continued

In Re Debs - Further Readings

In Re Debs - Significance

In one of the most egregious cases of the courts siding with industry against labor, a federal judge issued an injunction ordering the American Railway Union to stop a strike against the Pullman Company and sentenced the strike's leader, Eugene Debs, to six months in jail for violating the injunction. The government then put Debs on trial for conspiracy but dropped the case in mid-trial. The Supre…

In Re Debs - The "debs Rebellion"

Eugene Debs was born in 1855 to a blue-collar Midwestern family. He began his career as a lowly railroad worker. However, he soon discovered that his real gift was in politics, and he rose quickly in the budding union movement. By 1893 Debs was president of the American Railway Union. Although the ARU was primarily a railroad-track workers union, in the spring of 1894 many Pullman employees joined…

In Re Debs - Debs Tried For Conspiracy

Unlike with the contempt charge, the government had to try Debs before a jury on the conspiracy charge. The ARU retained the famous lawyer Clarence Darrow, who was assisted by S. Gregory and former Illinois Supreme Court Judge Lyman Trumbull. The prosecutors were John C. Black, T. M. Milchrist, and Edwin Walker. When the trial opened 26 January 1895, Darrow made it clear to the jury that the issue…

In Re Debs - Debs' Political Career Continued

Although his strike was crushed, Debs left prison with his political reputation intact. He became the leading spokesman for the American left, and was the presidential candidate for the American Socialist Party in every election (except 1916) from 1900 to 1920. He lost every election. When the United States entered World War I, Debs was outraged. He criticized President Woodrow Wilson in the harsh…

In Re Debs - Contempt Of Court

Conduct that defies or undermines the authority and justice of a court is considered contempt of court and is punishable by jail, fines, and other forms of retribution. A court can charge plaintiffs, defendants, lawyers, court personnel, jurors, witnesses, and observers with contempt of court for inappropriate behavior. In addition, a court generally has considerable latitude in making contempt ch…