Howard W. Smith

Smith-Connally Act Criminalizes Union Political Contributions, Spawns First PACs

1943-06-25 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Congress overrides President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s veto to pass the Smith-Connally Act (War Labor Disputes Act), which prohibits unions from making contributions in federal elections and empowers the federal government to seize industries threatened by strikes. The legislation is hurriedly …

Howard W. Smith Tom Connally Franklin D. Roosevelt Congress of Industrial Organizations United Mine Workers +1 more labor-suppression campaign-finance political-action-committees union-busting congressional-action +1 more

Smith Act Criminalizes Advocacy of Government Overthrow, Enables Political Persecution

1940-06-28 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

Congress passes the Alien Registration Act, commonly known as the Smith Act after its sponsor Representative Howard W. Smith of Virginia, on June 28, 1940. The law makes it a criminal offense to “knowingly or willfully advocate, abet, advise, or teach the duty, necessity, desirability, or …

Howard W. Smith Congress Department of Justice Franklin D. Roosevelt civil-liberties first-amendment political-persecution red-scare labor-suppression +1 more