On this day, June 26, in 1918

Eugene Debs, labor activist and leader of the US socialist party, was arrested under the Espionage Act for an anti-war speech he delivered in Canton, Ohio. Debs often criticized the American military system, and in this particular speech he explained that America's interest in World War I was fueled by capitalism. He also highlighted the irony of America's claim to be protecting democracy abroad, and encouraged Americans to resist the draft. While still imprisoned at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Debs ran for president in the 1920 election as a Socialist Party candidate. His experience in prison also inspired him write a series of articles criticizing the prison industrial complex.