The Debs Decision

Scott NearingProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 79K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Debs Decision by Scott NearingAuthor: Nearing, Scott, 1883-1983,Language: English, Class: HX: Social sciences: Socialism, Communism, Anarchism, Release Date: Feb 25, 2007

Editor's review

This short book is Scott Nearing's commentary on the Debs case, placing a judicial proceeding within the context of American social movements and the controversy over free speech. Nearing, a long-time observer of social questions, writes in a polemical vein, emphasizing the clash of ideas behind the case rather than offering a neutral account of events. For Chinese readers its value lies chiefly in opening a window on the relationship between American socialism and the courts in the early twentieth century, and in serving as a historical case for understanding debates over the limits of speech. Read with an eye to the author's partisan stance, keeping argument and fact distinct. The electronic edition comes from a public-domain project and is best used as supplementary material for specialized study, not as an introductory general history. It yields more when read alongside chapters on American labor history and the history of left-wing movements.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University students studying American socialism and labor history
Readers concerned with the relationship between free speech and judicial cases
Researchers who need English primary sources for topical reading
General readers interested in early twentieth-century American social thought

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking complete case files and trial records
Beginners without background expecting a systematic general history
Readers who want light stories and have little tolerance for polemical texts

Reading tips

Learn the basic background on Debs and the American socialist movement before starting the text.
Distinguish the author's commentary from the facts of the case as you read, marking tendentious judgments.
Read against chapters on American labor history or free-speech jurisprudence to cross-check.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a case record or a commentary?

Judging by the title and the author's identity, it is closer to a commentary built around the Debs case, focused on setting out the author's views on the case and the social questions it raises rather than compiling trial materials item by item. For complete files, consult judicial archives or contemporary reports.

Can I understand it without a background in American history?

You can, but it will be hard going. The people, organizations, and era debates it refers to require some background. A brief overview of the American socialist movement and labor conflict before the main text will make it much smoother.

What should I watch for when reading the electronic edition?

This is an English electronic text released by a public-domain project, laid out mostly as plain text and possibly lacking notes or an introduction. Prepare your own background material, note the edition information, and check page or paragraph locations against the original when quoting.

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About the author

Scott Nearing Author · American · 1883–1983

Scott Nearing (1883–1983) was an American radical economist, educator, and writer. Born in Pennsylvania in 1883, he received his doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1909 and was dismissed from the Wharton School in 1915 because of his support for child labor legislation and his left-wing views. He and his wife Helen later practiced a self-sufficient rural life in Vermont and Maine while continuing to write and lecture. His works cover political economy, social criticism, education, and the history of civilization; the library holds such titles as The American Empire, Civilization and Beyond: Learning from History, The New Education, The Super Race: An American Problem, The Debs Decision, and The Next Step: A Plan for Economic World Federation. The author of nearly fifty books, he wrote in a direct and practical style, combining social analysis with personal practice in daily life, and exerted a certain influence on American left-wing thought and alternative ways of living.