Daniel De Leon (1852–1914) was born in Curaçao, his family is of Sephardic Jewish ancestry. De Leon became an influential American socialist newspaper editor, politician, Marxist theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarded as the forefather of the idea of revolutionary industrial unionism and was the leading figure in the Socialist Labor Party of America (“SLP”) and the editor of its newspaper, The People. In 1891 Daniel ran as SLP candidate for governor of New York.
The SLP established in 1876 as the Workingmen’s Party and is the oldest socialist political party in the US. The party advocated the ideology of “socialist industrial unionism”, they believed in a fundamental transformation of society through the combined political and industrial action of the working class organized in industrial unions.
De Leon’s motto lives on in his favorite hymn,
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.
And here are a few of De Leon’s famous quotes.