Address to the Court

After criticizing US involvement in WWI, Eugene Debs found himself testifying in court for violation of the Sedition Act of 1918. Debs, an outspoken socialist and advocate, stated that he saw this law “as a despotic enactment in flagrant conflict with democratic principles and with the spirit of free institutions.” In his address to the court, he defends his socialism by discussing his working-class childhood and the plight of the American poor. Despite facing years in prison, Debs’ ended his address with hope, saying, “I can see the dawn of the betterday for humanity.”