Daniel De Leon (; December 14, 1852 – May 11, 1914), alternatively spelt Daniel de León, was a Curaçaoan-American
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
newspaper editor
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
, politician,
Marxist theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarded as the forefather of the idea of
revolutionary industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...
and was the leading figure in the
Socialist Labor Party of America from 1890 until the time of his death.
De Leon was a co-founder of the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
and much of his ideas and philosophy contributed to the creations of Socialist Labor parties across the world, including:
Australia, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and the
Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance
The Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance of the United States and Canada - commonly abbreviated STLA or ST&LA - was a revolutionary socialist labor union in the United States closely linked to the Socialist Labor Party (SLP), which existed from 189 ...
.
Biography
Early life and academic career
Daniel De Leon was born December 14, 1852, in
Curaçao, the son of Salomon de Leon and Sarah Jesurun De Leon. His father was a surgeon in the
Royal Netherlands Army and a colonial official. Although he was raised
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, his family ancestry is believed to be
Dutch Jewish of the Spanish and Portuguese community; "
De León" is a
Spanish surname
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, oftentimes
toponymic
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
, in which case it can possibly indicate a family's geographic origin in the Medieval
Kingdom of León.
His father lived in the Netherlands before coming to Curaçao when receiving his commission in the military. Salomon De Leon died on January 18, 1865, when Daniel was twelve and was the first to be buried in the new Jewish cemetery.
De Leon left Curaçao on April 15, 1866 and arrived in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
on May 22. In Germany he studied at the Gymnasium in
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the L ...
and in 1870 began attending the
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
in the Netherlands. He studied medicine at Leiden and was a member of the Amsterdam student corps, but did not graduate. While in Europe he had become fluent in German,
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
, French, English,
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, in addition to his
first language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
Spanish. Sometime between 1872 and 1874 he emigrated to New York, with his wife and mother. There he found work as an instructor in Latin, Greek and mathematics at Thomas B. Harrington's School in
Westchester, New York
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
. In 1876 he entered Columbia College, now
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, earning an
LLB
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
with honors 1878.
From 1878 to 1882, he lived in
Brownsville, Texas, as a practicing attorney, then returned to New York. While he maintained an attorney's office until 1884 he was more interested in pursuing an academic career at his alma mater, Columbia. A prize lectureship had been created in 1882. To be eligible a candidate had to be a graduate of Columbia, a member of the
Academy of Political Science The Academy of Political Science is an American non-profit organization and publisher devoted to cultivating non-partisan, objective analysis of political, social, and economic issues. It is headquartered in The Interchurch Center in New York City ...
and read at least one paper before the academy. The three year appointment came with a $500 annual salary ($ in terms) and required the lecturer to give twenty lectures a year, based on original research, to the students of the
School of Political Science. De Leon devoted his lectures to Latin American diplomacy and the interventions of European powers in South American affairs. He received his first term in 1883 and his second term in 1886. In 1889 he was not kept on. Some allege that the University officials denied him a promised full professorship because of his political activities, while other believe that his subject was too esoteric to be a permanent part of the curriculum.
De Leon published no papers about Latin America during this period, but he did contribute an article to the debut issue of the Academy's ''
Political Science Quarterly
''Political Science Quarterly'' is an American double blind peer-reviewed academic journal covering government, politics, and policy, published since 1886 by the Academy of Political Science. Its editor-in-chief is Robert Y. Shapiro (Columbia U ...
'' on the
Berlin West Africa Conference. He also wrote reviews on
Franz von Holtzendorff's ''Handbuch des Völkerrechts'' in June 1888 and its French translation in March 1889 for the same publication.
Personal life
De Leon traveled back to Curaçao to marry the 16-year-old Sarah Lobo from
Caracas, Venezuela
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
. The Lobo were a prominent Jewish family in the area that lived in both the Dutch Antilles and Venezuela. After a traditional Jewish wedding in
Caracas the family moved to a Spanish speaking area of Manhattan, at 112 West 14th street where their first son,
Solon De Leon would be born on September 2, 1883. By the mid to late 1880s the family was living in the
Lower East Side. In 1885 or 1886 another child, Grover Cleveland De Leon was born but only lived a year and a half. On April 29, 1887 Sarah Lobo De Leon died in childbirth while delivering stillborn twins; it was the same year that Grover had died. After this the De Leons left the Lower East Side and moved in with their housekeeper Mary Redden Maguire at 1487 Avenue A.
In 1891, while on a speaking tour around the country for the SLP, De Leon found himself in Kansas when he learned that a planned speaking engagement in
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
had been canceled. He decided to head to
Independence, Kansas where he had been advised there was some sympathy for the socialist movement. He arrived on April 23 and was hosted by a 26-year-old school teacher, Bertha Canary, who was the head of a local
Bellamyite group, the Christian Socialist Club. Canary was familiar with De Leon, having read some of his articles in the
Nationalist Club
Nationalist Clubs were an organized network of socialist political groups which emerged at the end of the 1880s in the United States of America in an effort to make real the ideas advanced by Edward Bellamy in his utopian novel ''Looking Backwa ...
movement press, and the two apparently became infatuated with each other. She was a member of a Congregational Church and in 1892 they were married in
South Norwalk, Connecticut
South Norwalk is a neighborhood in Norwalk, Connecticut which corresponds to the city's Second Taxing District. Often referred to as SoNo, the neighborhood was originally settled as Old Well, then chartered as the city of South Norwalk on Augus ...
. They had five children: Florence, Gertrude, Paul, Donald and Genseric. He named the latter, according to Solon De Leon, after the medieval king
Genseric
Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the di ...
, a
Vandal
The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
who made the Pope kiss his toes.
Political career
De Leon settled in New York City, studying at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. He was a
Georgist socialist during the 1886 Mayoral campaign of
Henry George
Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...
and in 1890 joined the
Socialist Labor Party
The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...
, becoming the editor of its newspaper, ''
The People
The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881.
At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ...
.'' He quickly grew in stature inside the party and in 1891, 1902, and 1904 he ran for the governorship of the state of New York, winning more than 15,000 votes in 1902, his best result.
De Leon became a
Marxist in the late 1880s, and argued for the revolutionary overthrow of
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
, trying to divert the SLP away from its
Lassallian outlook. Some argue that his famous polemic with
James Connolly
James Connolly ( ga, Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the a ...
showed him to have been an advocate of
Ferdinand Lassalle's
subsistence theory of wages
The iron law of wages is a proposed law of economics that asserts that real wages always tend, in the long run, toward the minimum wage necessary to sustain the life of the worker. The theory was first named by Ferdinand Lassalle in the mid-nine ...
. Others question this assertion because by the same logic Marx and Engels could be described as advocates of the Iron Law because language in ''
The Communist Manifesto
''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Commu ...
'' and ''Value, Price and Profit'' pertaining to the level of wages and temporary effect of union activity on working conditions is similar to the language used by De Leon in his answer to Connolly, and the 'iron law of wages' is a Malthusian theory which De Leon did not indicate any support for.
De Leon was highly critical of the trade union movement in America and described the craft-oriented
American Federation of Labor as the "American Separation of Labor". At this early stage in De Leon's development, there was still a considerable remnant of the general unionist
Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...
in existence, and the SLP worked within it until being driven out. This resulted in the formation of the
Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance
The Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance of the United States and Canada - commonly abbreviated STLA or ST&LA - was a revolutionary socialist labor union in the United States closely linked to the Socialist Labor Party (SLP), which existed from 189 ...
(ST&LA) in 1895, which was dominated by the SLP.
By the early 20th Century, the SLP was declining in numbers, with first the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
and then the
Socialist Party of America becoming the leading leftist political force in America (as these splinter groups embraced capitalist reforms). De Leon was an important figure in the US labor movement, and in 1904 he attended the
International Socialist Congress, held in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
. Under the influence of the
American Labor Union (ALU), he changed his politics around this time to put more focus on industrial unionism, and the ballot as a purely destructive weapon, in contrast to his earlier view of political organization as 'sword' and industrial union as 'shield'. He worked with the ALU in the founding of the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
(IWW) in 1905.
His participation in this organization was short-lived and acrimonious.
De Leon later accused the IWW of having been taken over by what he called disparagingly 'the bummery'. De Leon was engaged in a policy dispute with the leaders of the IWW. His argument was in support of political action via the Socialist Labor Party while other leaders, including founder
Big Bill Haywood
William Dudley "Big Bill" Haywood (February 4, 1869 – May 18, 1928) was an American labor organizer and founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a member of the executive committee of the Socialist Party of ...
, argued instead for
direct action. Haywood's faction prevailed, resulting in a change to the Preamble which precluded "affiliation with any political party." De Leon's followers left the IWW to form a rival Detroit-based IWW, which was renamed the
Workers' International Industrial Union in 1915, and collapsed in 1925.
[Fred W. Thompson and Patrick Murfin, ''The IWW: Its First Seventy Years, 1905-1975,'' 1976; pg. 39.]
Death and legacy
De Leon was formally expelled from the Chicago IWW after calling proponents of that organization "slum proletarians".
His Socialist Labor Party has remained influential, largely by keeping his ideas alive.
De Leon died on May 11, 1914 of Septic
Endocarditis
Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves. Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, or the ...
at
Mount Sinai Hospital in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York.
Daniel De Leon proved hugely influential to other socialists, also outside the US. For example, in the UK, a
Socialist Labour Party was formed. De Leon's hopes for peaceful and bloodless revolution also influenced
Antonio Gramsci's concept of
passive revolution
Passive revolution is a transformation of the political and institutional structures without strong social processes by ruling classes for their own self-preservation. The phrase was coined by the Marxist politician and philosopher Antonio Grams ...
.
George Seldes
Henry George Seldes ( ; November 16, 1890 – July 2, 1995) was an American investigative journalist, foreign correspondent, editor, author, and media critic best known for the publication of the newsletter ''In Fact'' from 1940 to 1950. He was a ...
quotes
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
saying on the fifth anniversary of the
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, "... What we have done in Russia is accept the De Leon interpretation of Marxism, that is what the Bolsheviki adopted in 1917."
Electoral history
De Leon ran in
1891
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany.
** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence.
** Germany takes formal possession of its new Af ...
for
Governor of New York and received 14,651 votes. He ran in
1893
Events
January–March
* January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America.
* Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson.
* January 6 – Th ...
for
Secretary of State of New York
The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York who leads the Department of State (NYSDOS).
The current secretary of state of New York is Robert J. Rodriguez, a Democrat.
Duties
The secre ...
and received 20,034 votes. He ran again in
1902
Events
January
* January 1
** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...
for Governor and received 15,886 votes. He ran in
1903
Events January
* January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India.
* January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...
for the
New York Court of Appeals. He ran again in
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...
for Governor and received 8,976 votes.
Works
''Reform or Revolution?'' speech, 1896.
speech, 1898.
''Socialism vs Anarchism'' speech, 1901.
''The Mysteries of the People'' a series of 19 novels translated from Eugène Sue's text, 1904.
''Two Pages from Roman History'' later renamed ''The Socialist Reconstruction of Society''.
(short essay, 1904)
Notes
Notes
Citations
Further reading
* Stephen Coleman, ''Daniel De Leon'', Manchester, England: Manchester University Press.
* W.J. Ghen
"Daniel De Leon"in ''Dictionary of American Biography.'' New York: American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936.
*
Lewis Hanke
Lewis Hanke (1905–1993) was an American historian of colonial Latin America, and is best known for his writings on the Spanish conquest of Latin America. Hanke, along with two others, Irving A. Leonard and John T. Lanning, presented a revision ...
br>
''The first lecturer on Hispanic American diplomatic history.''Durham, N.C., 1936 (Reprinted from The Hispanic American historical review, vol. XVI, no. 3, August, 1936)
* Frank Girard and Ben Perry, ''Socialist Labor Party, 1876-1991: A Short History.'' Philadelphia: Livra Books, 1991.
* David Herreshoff, "Daniel De Leon: The Rise of Marxist Politics," in Harvey Goldberg ed. ''American Radicals: Some Problems and Personalities.'' New York, Monthly Review Press, 1957.
** ''American Disciples of Marx: From the Age of Jackson to the Progressive Era.'' Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1967.
* Olive M. Johnson
''Daniel De Leon, American Socialist Pathfinder.''New York: New York Labor News Company, 1923.
* Olive M. Johnson and Henry Kuhn, ''The Socialist Labor Party: During Four Decades, 1890-1930.'
Part 1.Part 2.
New York: New York Labor News Company, 1931.
* Charles A. Madison, "Daniel De Leon: Apostle of Socialism," ''Antioch Review,'' vol. 5, no. 3 (Autumn 1945), pp. 402–414
In JSTOR
* Arnold Petersen, ''Daniel DeLeon: Social Architect.'' New York: New York Labor News Company, 1942.
* Leonid Raiskii
''Daniel De Leon; the struggle against opportunism in the American labor movement,''
New York: New York Labor News Co., 1932.
* Carl Reeve,
The Life and Times of Daniel De Leon
'' New York:AIMS/Humanities Press, 1972.
* L. Glen Seratan, ''Daniel DeLeon: The Odyssey of an American Marxist'', Cambridge, MA: [Harvard University Press, 1979.
** "Daniel De Leon as American," ''Wisconsin Magazine of History,'' vol. 61, no. 3 (Spring 1978), pp. 210–223
In JSTOR
''Daniel De Leon: The Man and his Work: A Symposium.''
New York: National Executive Committee, Socialist Labor Party, 1919.
''Golden jubilee of De Leonism, 1890-1940: Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Socialist labor party.''
New York: National Executive Committee, Socialist Labor Party, 1940.
''Fifty years of American Marxism, 1891-1941: Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Weekly People.''
New York: National Executive Committee, Socialist Labor Party, 1940.
''The Vatican in Politics: Ultramontanism''
New York Labor News Company 1962
External links
Socialist Labor Party official website.at the Marxists Internet Archive.
Deleonism.org*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Daniel de
Daniel De Leon,
1852 births
1914 deaths
Curaçao emigrants to the United States
Curaçao Jews
American Sephardic Jews
Industrial Workers of the World members
Jewish socialists
Libertarian Marxists
Libertarian socialists
Marxist theorists
American Marxists
American newspaper editors
American syndicalists
American communists
American socialists
American people of Dutch-Jewish descent
American people of Spanish-Jewish descent
Dutch emigrants to the United States
Columbia College (New York) alumni
Columbia University faculty
Socialist Labor Party of America politicians from New York (state)
19th-century Sephardi Jews
20th-century Sephardi Jews
Socialist Labor Party of America
19th-century American politicians
New York (state) socialists
Trade unionists from New York (state)
Deaths from endocarditis
Infectious disease deaths in New York (state)