(36.) NORMAN THOMAS (1884-1968)
“Socialist Candidate”
Defeated by Hoover, 1928; Roosevelt, 1932,36,40,44; Truman, 1948

A graduate of Princeton University and Union theological Seminary, Thomas was ordained a Presbyterian minister and held several pastorates in New York City. He founded The World Tomorrow, was an editor of The Nation, and had been active in the League for Industrial Democracy, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other reform organizations.

After the death of Eugene V. Debs, Thomas became America’s leading exponent of socialism and a candidate for mayor of New York, governor of the state, as well as campaigning six times for the presidency, always in the interest of influencing social betterment. His leadership and campaigns were always on a high plane, displaying courage and no bitterness. As a pacifist, he opposed participation in World War I, military conscription, communism, and fascism.

Thomas was a radio speaker and authored several books: The Conscientious Objector; Is Conscience a Crime?; War-No Profit, No Glory, No Need; What Is Our Destiny; America’s Way Out; Human Exploitation; and, After the New Deal – What?

36_NormanThomas