DE LEON, DANIEL

DE LEON, DANIEL (1852–1914), U.S. socialist leader. De Leon, who was born in Curaçao, Dutch West Indies, claimed descent from aristocratic, Spanish-Catholic stock. However, it is generally accepted as beyond doubt that he came from a Jewish family. He studied in Europe and went to New York in 1872. De Leon did not become concerned with labor matters until 1886, but by 1890 he had joined the Socialist Labor Party. From 1892 to his death, he edited the party's weekly The People, and from 1900 to 1914, the Daily People, becoming the single most important figure in the organization. De Leon vigorously rejected any compromise with the capitalist system, and attacked trade union leaders and socialists who were prepared to concentrate on the immediate demands of workers as enemies of the working class. He argued that only a minority would have the determination and spirit to lead the workers to Socialism, and this was the role that he assigned to the Socialist Labor Party. All who disagreed were forced from the party or left after bitter battles with De Leon. De Leon maintained that both political action and industrial unionism were necessary to spark revolutionary sentiments in the American worker. Until 1905 he laid heavy stress on political action through the Socialist Labor Party, but also organized the Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance in 1895 to provide a radical Socialist alternative to the American Federation of Labor. In 1905 De Leon helped organize the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). At this time he placed increased emphasis on industrial unionism as a revolutionary tool. However, De Leon rejected the IWW's repudiation of political action in 1908, and he left that organization to form a rival group. Despite all disappointments, De Leon tirelessly insisted on the eventual victory of Socialism and the ultimate vindication of his methods and ideology. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mc-Kee, in: Labor History, 1 (1960), 264–97; A. Peterson, Daniel De Leon, 2 vols. (1941–53). (Irwin Yellowitz)