Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Abrams v. United States: Holmes Dissents, Articulates 'Marketplace of Ideas' Free Speech Theory

| Importance: 7/10

The Supreme Court upheld the Sedition Act convictions of five Russian Jewish immigrants who had distributed leaflets opposing U.S. military intervention against the Bolshevik Revolution. In a 7-2 decision, the majority found that criticizing American military policy and calling for a general strike …

Supreme Court of the United States Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Justice Louis Brandeis Jacob Abrams free-speech judicial-capture progressive-era sedition-act first-amendment
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Schenck v. United States: Supreme Court Creates 'Clear and Present Danger' Test, Upholds Espionage Act Convictions

| Importance: 8/10

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Espionage Act conviction of Socialist Party Secretary Charles Schenck for distributing leaflets urging draft resistance. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. authored the opinion, creating the “clear and present danger” test for restricting speech …

Supreme Court of the United States Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Charles Schenck Socialist Party of America judicial-capture free-speech world-war-i state-repression progressive-era
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Supreme Court Strikes Down Federal Child Labor Law in Hammer v. Dagenhart

| Importance: 8/10

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 on June 3, 1918, in Hammer v. Dagenhart, ruling 5-4 that the federal law exceeded federal authority and represented an unwarranted encroachment on state powers to determine local labor conditions. Justice William R. …

U.S. Supreme Court Justice William R. Day Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. supreme-court child-labor labor-rights judicial-capture progressive-era
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Supreme Court Strikes Down Labor Protections in Lochner v. New York

| Importance: 9/10

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Lochner v. New York on April 17, 1905, striking down a New York law that limited bakery workers to a 60-hour work week as unconstitutional. Justice Rufus Peckham’s majority opinion held that the law violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due …

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Rufus Peckham Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Justice John Harlan Joseph Lochner supreme-court labor-rights corporate-power judicial-capture progressive-era +1 more
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