The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Investigation of the Munitions Industry, chaired by Senator Gerald Nye (R-ND), begins operations on April 12, 1934, to investigate the financial and banking interests underlying American involvement in World War I and the enormous profits reaped by industrial and …
Gerald NyeU.S. SenateJ.P. Morgan Jr.Pierre du Pontmunitions manufacturers+1 morewar-profiteeringcorporate-corruptionmilitary-industrial-complexinvestigationsworld-war-i
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 StatesJustice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.Charles SchenckSocialist Party of Americajudicial-capturefree-speechworld-war-istate-repressionprogressive-era
The United States government established the War Industries Board (WIB) to coordinate the purchase of war supplies between the War Department and Navy Department during World War I. The WIB existed from July 1917 to December 1918 to coordinate and channel production by setting priorities, fixing …
Bernard BaruchPresident Woodrow WilsonWar DepartmentNavy Departmentworld-war-icorporate-powergovernment-industryrevolving-doorinstitutional-capture
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Espionage Act into law, prohibiting interference with military operations or recruitment, preventing insubordination in the military, and preventing support of U.S. enemies during wartime. The Wilson administration, knowing many Americans were conflicted about …
President Woodrow WilsonIndustrial Workers of the World (IWW)Eugene V. DebsVictor L. BergerEmma Goldman+1 morelabor-suppressionfree-speechworld-war-iiwwstate-repression
One week after Congress declared war on Germany, President Woodrow Wilson created the Committee on Public Information (CPI) by executive order, establishing the first large-scale government propaganda apparatus in American history. Journalist George Creel was appointed chairman, heading a massive …
President Woodrow WilsonGeorge CreelSecretary of State Robert LansingSecretary of War Newton BakerSecretary of the Navy Josephus Danielspropagandaworld-war-istate-repressionprogressive-eramedia-manipulation
A German U-boat torpedoed the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania about 11 nautical miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, sinking the ship in just 18 minutes and killing approximately 1,200 of nearly 2,000 passengers and crew, including 128 Americans. The Germans had circulated warnings that the …
RMS LusitaniaGerman NavyBritish GovernmentJP Morgan & Co.American passengerswar-profiteeringworld-war-ijp-morganpropagandacorporate-negligence
In August 1914, as World War I erupted in Europe, JP Morgan & Co. approached the U.S. government about making loans to the French Government and the Rothschilds. Despite Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan’s principled position that “loans by American bankers to any foreign …
JP Morgan & Co.British GovernmentFrench GovernmentThomas LamontPresident Woodrow Wilson+1 morewar-profiteeringbanking-consolidationjp-morganworld-war-ifinancial-capture