Socialist Party of America

Schenck v. United States: Supreme Court Creates 'Clear and Present Danger' Test, Upholds Espionage Act Convictions

1919-03-03 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | 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

Eugene V. Debs Sentenced to Ten Years for Antiwar Speech, Runs for President from Prison

1918-09-14 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Federal Judge David C. Westenhaver sentenced five-time Socialist Party presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs to ten years in federal prison for violating the Espionage Act by delivering an antiwar speech in Canton, Ohio on June 16, 1918. Before sentencing, Debs delivered his famous statement: …

Eugene V. Debs Socialist Party of America President Woodrow Wilson Judge David C. Westenhaver free-speech state-repression labor-movement progressive-era espionage-act