In re Debs,
158 U.S. 564Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1895), was a
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
decision handed down concerning
Eugene V. DebsEugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , as well as candidate for President of the United States as a member of the Social Democratic Party in 1900, and later as a member of the Socialist...
and
labor unionsA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
. Debs, president of the
American Railway UnionThe American Railway Union , was the largest union of its time, and one of the first industrial unions in the United States. It was founded on June 20 1893, by railway workers gathered in Chicago, Illinois, and under the leadership of Eugene V...
, had been involved in the
Pullman StrikeThe Pullman Strike refers to a nationwide conflict between labor unions and railroads that occurred in the United States in 1894. The conflict began in the town of Pullman, Illinois on May 11 when approximately 3,000 employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company began a wildcat strike in response to...
earlier in 1894 and challenged the federal
injunctionAn injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order, whereby a party is required to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. The party that fails to adhere to the injunction faces civil or criminal penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions for failing to follow the...
ordering the strikers back to work where they would face being fired. The injunction had been issued because of the violent nature of the strike. However, Debs refused to end the strike and was subsequently cited for
contempt of courtContempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
; he appealed the decision to the courts.
The main question being debated was whether the
federal governmentThe federal government of the United States is the central government entity established by the United States Constitution, which shares sovereignty over the United States with the governments of the individual U.S. states. The federal government has three branches: the legislative, executive, and...
had a right to issue the injunction, which dealt with both
interstateThe Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Native American tribes...
and intrastate commerce and shipping on rail cars.
In re Debs,
158 U.S. 564Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1895), was a
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
decision handed down concerning
Eugene V. DebsEugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , as well as candidate for President of the United States as a member of the Social Democratic Party in 1900, and later as a member of the Socialist...
and
labor unionsA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
. Debs, president of the
American Railway UnionThe American Railway Union , was the largest union of its time, and one of the first industrial unions in the United States. It was founded on June 20 1893, by railway workers gathered in Chicago, Illinois, and under the leadership of Eugene V...
, had been involved in the
Pullman StrikeThe Pullman Strike refers to a nationwide conflict between labor unions and railroads that occurred in the United States in 1894. The conflict began in the town of Pullman, Illinois on May 11 when approximately 3,000 employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company began a wildcat strike in response to...
earlier in 1894 and challenged the federal
injunctionAn injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order, whereby a party is required to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. The party that fails to adhere to the injunction faces civil or criminal penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions for failing to follow the...
ordering the strikers back to work where they would face being fired. The injunction had been issued because of the violent nature of the strike. However, Debs refused to end the strike and was subsequently cited for
contempt of courtContempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
; he appealed the decision to the courts.
The main question being debated was whether the
federal governmentThe federal government of the United States is the central government entity established by the United States Constitution, which shares sovereignty over the United States with the governments of the individual U.S. states. The federal government has three branches: the legislative, executive, and...
had a right to issue the injunction, which dealt with both
interstateThe Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Native American tribes...
and intrastate commerce and shipping on rail cars. With an opinion written by
JusticeAssociate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
David Josiah BrewerDavid Josiah Brewer was an American jurist and an Associate Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court for 20 years.-Early life:...
, the court ruled in a unanimous decision in favor of the U.S. government. Joined by
Chief JusticeThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Melville FullerMelville Weston Fuller was the Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910.-Early life and education:...
and
Associate JusticesAssociate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
Stephen Johnson FieldStephen Johnson Field was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from May 20 1863, to December 1 1897...
,
John Marshall HarlanJohn Marshall Harlan was an American Supreme Court associate justice. He is most notable as the lone dissenter in the infamous Civil Rights Cases , and Plessy v. Ferguson , which, respectively, struck down as unconstitutional federal antidiscrimination legislation and upheld Southern segregation...
,
Horace GrayHorace Gray was an American jurist who ultimately served on the United States Supreme Court. He was an active in public service and a great philanthropist to the City of Boston.-Early life:...
,
Henry Billings BrownHenry Billings Brown was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from January 5, 1891 to May 28, 1906. He is perhaps best known today as the author of the opinion for the Court in Plessy v...
,
George Shiras, Jr.George Shiras, Jr. was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was nominated to the Court by Republican President Benjamin Harrison. At that time, he had 37 years of private legal practice, but had never judged a case...
,
Howell Edmunds JacksonHowell Edmunds Jackson was an American jurist and politician. He served on the United States Supreme Court, in the U.S. Senate, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Tennessee House of Representatives. He authored notable opinions on the Interstate Commerce Act and the...
, and
Edward Douglass WhiteEdward Douglass White, Jr. , American politician and jurist, was a United States senator, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the ninth Chief Justice of the United States. He was best known for formulating the Rule of Reason standard of antitrust law...
, the court ruled that the government had a right to regulate interstate commerce and ensure the operations of the Postal Service, along with a responsibility to "ensure the general welfare of the public."
See also
Further Reading
Papke, David Ray (1999. The Pullman Case: The Clash of Labor and Capital in Industrial America. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas ISBN 070060547