Anna Lowy
Mr. Fox
U.S. History 4th Period
22 January 2016
President Wilson’s Suppression of Civil Rights
It is easy to forget about war on the home front, where millions of lives can change in an instant. When the United States decided to enter the First World War, many Americans were shocked that they too would become part of the war effort. Naturally, they formed their own opinions about the war and its justification, opinions that the Woodrow Wilson administration later sought to control. In analyzing the use of manipulative propaganda, rigorous policies, and controlling legislation, it becomes clear that Wilson suppressed his citizens’ civil rights during World War I.
One example of President Wilson's restriction of civil rights was his
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creation of the Committee on Public Information (CPI). The job of the CPI was to spread positive ideas of the war in order to sway public opinion. Many Americans were initially against the war, staying neutral because they felt European countries were always in pointless wars. CPI sent out posters, which inspired people to join the draft and portrayed Germans in a negative way. CPI workers were famous for their poster, which had a gorilla on it, and read, “Destroy this mad brute, Enlist.” This portrays the idea that Germans were brutal and cruel, but in reality many Germans had moved to America and assimilated into American culture. A second case of where the CPI created a double standard was the in Four Minute Men speeches; these speeches supported the war and encouraged citizens to join the war effort. The actions of the CPI directed by Wilson limited the civil rights of citizens because they manipulated Americans with propaganda and skewed facts. Another thing President Wilson did which limited to limit the rights of the people was creating the Espionage Act of 1917. This act limited what people could say, essentially violating the Constitutional right to free speech. An excerpt from the Espionage Act reads: Shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies and whoever when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, to the injury of the service or of the United States, shall be punished. This act caused many people to be prosecuted for a right that was protected by the First Amendment.
One of the more famous cases was the Schenck case. Charles Schenck was convicted of printing and passing out anti-draft enrollment leaflets; this encouraged people not to enlist. Schenck felt his freedom of press was violated and took his case to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court reinforced the conviction of him breaking the Espionage Act. The man in charge of this decision was Oliver Wendell Holmes. He believed that the actions of Schenck put the country in as much trouble, as a man who yelled fire in a full theatre. As he states here in his ruling speech:
The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic. When a nation is at war, many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no... Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right. The question in every case is whether the words are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to
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prevent. His ruling gave permission to congress to limit civil rights. He felt that during time of war government had the power to control the media and he supported the idea of control of what was guaranteed in the first amendment. Because of Wilson’s Espionage Act, Holmes felt he had the power to punish people for sharing their opinions if those opinions threatened national security. President Wilson therefore violated the U.S. Constitution to control his citizens. These were not the only events that took away the rights of the citizens during time of war.
President Wilson took many other actions to prohibit civil rights, which he felt could threaten his war campaign. The Masses case was a situation that led to prosecution by the Espionage Act. The Masses was a magazine company that printed anti-war cartoons, such as a dead body measuring for a war uniform, urging people to not be involved. This caused the entire magazine to be prohibited from production. The posters shared the idea that it was a rich man’s war and that the American workers were fighting for them. Their opinions were denied to the public because of the Espionage Act, which took away the rights of both businesses and people during the First World
War. People directly in the main action of the politics of war were not the only ones affected. Alice Paul, a women fight for women's suffrage, was brutally affected by this situation. She was campaigning for suffrage in front of Wilson's office during the war. She never protested the war, but she did protest the beliefs of the president. The court never charged her with breaking the Espionage Act but she did face many tough punishments for this, including jail time, where she was force fed and abused daily. Mr. Wilson did not only limit the opinions of people against the war, but the opinion of all during war time and this was not a necessary action to win the war. These examples are only a few of the cases in which President Wilson limited the civil rights of American citizens. None of the actions taken were necessary to win the war; in fact, creating this propaganda and stopping people from being involved was a lot more ineffective than allowing people to share their opinions. These acts and events caused Americans to lose their first amendment rights. Congress cannot make a law that suppresses a citizen’s civil rights. This defends the idea that President Wilson actions went to far in limiting people’s civil rights.
The American Civil War is one of the biggest turning points in American history. It marks a point of major separation in beliefs from the North and the South and yet somehow ends in a major unification that is now called the United States of America. It still to date remains the bloodiest war in American history. The book “This Republic of Suffering, Death and the American Civil War” by Drew Gilpin Faust better explains the change in thought from the American people that developed from the unexpected mass loss of soldiers that devastated the American people. Throughout this review, the reader will better understand the methods and theory of this book, the sources used, the main argument of the book, the major supporting arguments, and what the author did well and what the author didn’t do well.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., delivered a judgment that established guidelines for evaluating the limits of free speech. In Schenck’s case, Court had to decide whether the First Amendment protected his words, even though it might have had the power to cause opposition to the draft. The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech." The Court concluded that because Schenck's speech was intended to create opposition to the draft, he was not protected by the First Amendment.
Schenek v. United States was a trial in 1919 that reaffirmed the conviction of a man for circulating antidraft leaflets among members of the armed forces. This trial upheld the Espionage and Sedition Acts, which by many deemed unconstitutional. The Espionage Act of 1917 was a United States federal law, which made it a crime for a person to convey information with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the armed forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies. The Sedition Act forbade Americans to use "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, flag, or armed forces during war. The act also allowed the Postmaster General to deny mail delivery to dissenters of government policy during wartime. These two laws denied the freedom of speech that our sacred Bill of Rights was supposed to uphold. The antidraft flyers that Schenek passed out claimed to be freedom of speech so the government could not stop the circulation of Schenek’s pamphlets. However, by passing out antidraft laws, Schenek had “the intent to interfere with the operation of success of the armed forces of the United States.” By doing this, he broke the law. He was sentenced to six months in prison for breaking an unconstitutional law. The government was trying to reduce the freedom of speech during a time of war so that the nation would be united as one. The opposition of some feared Woodrow Wilson and his cabinet so they took action by reducing some freedoms and imprisoning many people unconstitutionally.
government enacted the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 which led to the suppression of anti-war documents and sentiments, as well as the prosecution of over two-thousand individuals.#
There is an obvious need to ensure that all soldiers act according to military orders rather than their own personal political motivations. At times, the military’s need to protect military order supersedes a soldier’s right to political speech. There is a delicate balance between protecting military interests and a soldier’s right to freedom of speech. Interests of the military, including protecting national security, promoting order and discipline within the military, and safeguarding military secrets must be balanced with a soldier’s right to tell his or her story and the public’s right to know the truth about the war on terror.
Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue throughout the world. Our ability to say whatever we want is very important to us as individuals and communities. Although freedom of speech and expression may sometimes be offensive to other people, it is still everyone’s right to express his/her opinion under the American constitution which states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press”. Although this amendment gave people the right express thier opinions, it still rests in one’s own hands as how far they will go to exercise that right of freedom of speech.
In his book, “Woodrow Wilson Revolution, War, and Peace” by Arthur Link, Link walks step by step through President Woodrow Wilson’s career beginning from the time he was born and focuses on his role during and after World War I. Through his entire book, Link acts as an apologist for the actions of Wilson as well as argues against the opinions of other historians. Link speaks about Wilson almost as if he idolizes him; as if despite what other historians and public opinion might say that he can do no wrong.
As one of the presidents during the Progressive Era, Theodore Roosevelt led the United States of America through a series of dramatic changes that interrupted the lives and ideologies that Americans during the time were more than familiarized with. Industrialization, women’s suffrage, the sexual revolution, imperialism, and “muckraking” journalism were just a few of the controversial, yet significant characteristics of this era. However, perhaps one of the largest and most vital influences during this time period came from the outside. Immigration was an issue that Roosevelt himself addressed rather perceptibly in his paper entitled “True Americanism,” which first appeared in a magazine called The Forum in April, 1894. However, it is not the idea of immigration that vexed Roosevelt; rather it was his concern and fear of the possibility that the increase in immigration of foreign people and cultures would culminate the concept of American patriotism, or “Americanism” as a whole. This paper will analyze the different elements of Roosevelt’s “True Americanism” by exploring the historical context of the document, highlighting Americanism as Roosevelt explicates it, observing the rhetoric used throughout the document, and discerning Roosevelt’s intended audience.
Should people be able to choose for themselves? Oliver Wendell Holmes said: Words can be weapons... the question in every case is whether the words are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.8 The basic idea on the Freedom of Speech is counteract whatever one says or does. With the Nazi march in 1977, instead of protesting, have an anti-
While thousands of American men fought in the war, not all American’s believed that the war was justified. In his address to the nation, President James Polk stated that the United States would fulfill it’s destiny by bringing peace to the less fortunate. In contrast to this, many in America felt that the war was unjust, realizing that the disputed territory never belonged to the United States. Among those opposing President Polk’s declaration of war was Congressman Abraham Lincoln, who refuted the President’s claims by analyzing his speech. Thomas Parker delivered a speech entitled “Sermon on War” in which he criticized the war for the same reasons as Abraham...
Ernest Freeman’s book Democracy’s Prisoner Eugene V. Debs, The Great War, and The Right to Dissent explains that role that Eugene V. Debs plays in the socialist Party and the say he had in WW1. In this book the main focus was on how Eugene V. Debs and his party spoke out against the government once the Espionage Act was in place.
In the late 1900’s the clear and present danger clause was added to the constitution which added small print to the first amendment. The clause was added to stop people from opposing the draft and United States war efforts when entering world war one. The clause states that if speech or writing poses a clear and present danger to others than it is not permitted under the first amendment. Under the same principal, you can’t scream “fire” in a crowded theater without consequences.
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Freedom of speech cannot be considered an absolute freedom, and even society and the legal system recognize the boundaries or general situations where the speech should not be protected. Along with rights comes civil responsib...