Alternately loved and reviled, Eugene Debs was a passionate labor leader and a formidable speaker in a time of great change in the U.S. Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Debs emerged as a divisive figure when he led the nationwide Pullman Strike in 1894. Seeking an alternative way for workers to gain power, he helped establish the U.S. Socialist Party, and ran as its candidate for president 5 times.