The Nation: The Original Stormin' Norman (Socialist pioneer Norman Thomas)

[marmar]

The Original Stormin' Norman
posted by Jeff Kisseloff on 03/12/2009 @ 5:57pm


I had a friend named Gene Rachlis who got me started as a writer. He was born in 1920, the same year that Eugene Debs ran for president on the Socialist Party ticket while still serving time for the ridiculous charge of obstructing the draft during the war. Like many good radicals, Mr. And Mrs. Rachlis named their son for their hero. I imagine if there were national birth records for 1920, one would find lots of Eugenes on the list.

Oddly, for a magazine that closely followed the comings and goings of the Socialist Party, The Nation's archives don't have a lot on Debs. Even his death in 1926, I was disappointed to learn, did not generate a single word in this magazine. Oh, there is a mention of him here and there, but not the kind of profile you would expect to see of one of our greatest radical leaders.

There are, however, lots of good stories in the archives on the man who for better or worse succeeded Debs as the face of socialism for much of the twentieth century--Norman Thomas. In fact, there are so many that I had an impossible time picking one for our classroom guide to accompany the magazine's cover story this week on socialism.

The Nation not only followed Thomas extensively, but the editors assigned several profiles of him as he hit the campaign trail in a series of presidential runs from1928 to 1948. Although socialism reached its zenith in popularity in 1912, Thomas was still considered a major political player for decades after that, mostly because of his great presence, his apparent moderation, his Americanism (As a young boy in Ohio he delivered papers on his bicycle to none other than the future president, Warren Harding.), and the simple fact that most of the time when he opened his mouth, he just made a lot of sense. Even though he never won an election, he had an enormous influence on this country. When FDR laid out his New Deal, Thomas, who not entirely appreciative to find that most of his "radical" ideas were being reformulated for the New Deal, told reporters, "Mr. Roosevelt did not carry out the Socialist platform, unless he carried it out on a stretcher." .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/from_the_archive/416964/the_original_stormin_norman?rel=hp_currently

[hobbit709]

1. Marion OH, which proudly claims Warren G Harding

That well-known Republican philanderer and incompetent, tries not to acknowledge that Norman Thomas came from the same town.

[raccoon]

2. THanks. Bookmarked to read later. nt

[DavidDvorkin]

3. I heard him speak at Indiana University in 1964

He came out of retirement to campaign for Lyndon Johnson, because of his fear of the alternative.

The meeting was held in a regular classroom, as I remember, not a big hall. He was old, but his voice was still remarkable and powerful, and he was eloquent and witty. He kept a room of college kids enthralled.