**“The Dawn of a Better Day” for New York City Will Not Be What They Imagined**
*By A. F. Cronin | American Thinker | September 15, 2025*
Zohran Mamdani, mayor-elect of New York City, quoted Eugene Debs in his acceptance speech last week:
> “The sun may have set over our city this evening, but as Eugene Debs once said: ‘I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.’”
To most people, the Debs quote is obscure—and that obscurity is deliberate. The majority of Democrat voters have little knowledge of who Eugene V. Debs was, what he did, or the ideology he represented. This ignorance, however, is paving the way for hardcore socialism.
Eugene V. Debs was the Socialist Party of America’s candidate for President of the United States during the early 20th century. He ran five times: in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920.
A vocal opponent of World War I, Debs publicly called for resistance to the military draft. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson’s administration arrested, tried, convicted, and imprisoned him for sedition. Remarkably, Debs ran his 1920 presidential campaign from his federal prison cell. Although he did not win, Debs was hailed as a socialist hero by comrades around the world.
The quote Mamdani used was taken from Debs’s statement to the court upon his conviction, part of which reads:
> “I never so clearly comprehended as now the great struggle between the powers of greed and exploitation on the one hand and upon the other the rising hosts of industrial freedom and social justice. I can see the dawn of the better day for humanity. The people are awakening. In due time they will and must come to their own.”
It is notable that Debs used the term *social justice*—remember, this was in 1918. He also used the words “greed” and “exploitation,” terms that continue to be widely used in today’s political discourse.
—
**Related Topics:** Society
**Keywords:** Leftism
—
*To read more, visit [americanthinker.com](https://www.americanthinker.com).*
—
**Reader Comments**
**MtnClimber:**
Is there a way to prevent those who voted for Mamdani from leaving NYC?
**MtnClimber:**
(For photos of scenery, wildlife, and climbing, click on my screen name for my Free Republic home page.)
**cgbg:**
> “The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it.”
—
*Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright.*
—
*To donate:*
– [Donate by Credit Card]
– [Donate by PayPal]
– Or by mail to:
Free Republic, LLC
PO Box 9771
Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4352673/posts