John Basil Barnhill

1864–1929 · American writer, editor & anti-socialist debater

Barnhill was an American writer, editor and professional debater who spent the first quarter of the twentieth century arguing against socialism in print and on platforms, taking on figures including Eugene V. Debs. He edited periodicals such as The Eagle and the Serpent, American Anti-Socialist and Humanity First, and in 1924 threw in with Robert M. La Follette’s Progressive campaign. His one line that outlived him was a debating jab, not a founding-era creed — and it now circulates almost entirely under someone else’s name.

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