Norman Thomas

Norman Thomas (1884-1968) was an American author and the Socialist Party's presidential candidate in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944 and 1948. He was born on in Marion, Ohio, on November 20, 1884 as the son of a Presbyterian minister. In 1905, he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in political science. Sometime after his graduation, Thomas became a socialist. After studying at the Union Theological Seminary, he was ordained as a minister and became the pastor of East Harlem Presbyterian Church in New York City.

In 1918, Thomas formed the and magazine the World Tomorrow and in 1920, was one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He unsuccessfully ran as the Socialist Party's candidate for governor of New York in 1924. In 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944 and 1948 he was the Socialist Party's presidential candidate and was easily defeated in every election. His lack of success in the elections did not equal lack of impact however. Some of the policy's that Thomas advocated as platforms in his presidential campaigns were insulted by president Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1940, Thomas, along with Burton Wheeler and Charles Lindbergh, formed the America First Committee. The America First Committee grew to over 800,000 members in it's first year but was disbanded after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. In the later years of his life, Thomas protested the Vietnam War and Cold War. He died on December 19, 1968 at the age of eighty-four.