Editing Eugene V. Debs (section)

=== Founding the Industrial Workers of the World ===
After his work with the [[Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen|Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen]] and the [[American Railway Union]], Debs's next major work in organizing a labor union came during the founding of the [[Industrial Workers of the World]] (IWW). On June 27, 1905, in Chicago, Illinois, Debs and other influential union leaders including [[Bill Haywood]], leader of the [[Western Federation of Miners]]; and [[Daniel De Leon]], leader of the [[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor Party]], held what Haywood called the "Continental Congress of the working class". Haywood stated: "We are here to confederate the workers of this country into a working-class movement that shall have for its purpose the emancipation of the working class".{{sfn|Haywood|1966|p=181}} Debs stated: "We are here to perform a task so great that it appeals to our best thought, our united energies, and will enlist our most loyal support; a task in the presence of which weak men might falter and despair, but from which it is impossible to shrink without betraying the working class".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vlib.us/amdocs/texts/debs1905.html |title=Eugene V. Debs Speech at the Founding of the IWW |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308173424/http://www.vlib.us/amdocs/texts/debs1905.html |archive-date=2008-03-08 |work=Documents for the Study of American History |access-date=July 29, 2008 }}</ref>