LAD 30

Charles Schneck was the Secretary of the Socialist Party of America and he was passing out papers and mailing papers that were agaisnt the draft and discouraged the war. These had phrases like "dont give in to intimidation" written on them and the government was unfuriated because he was discouraging the war. The government then arrested him and said that his actions violated the Espionage Act of 1917 and he sued. He then lost and appealed his way to the supreme court. Schneck then lost the case because although the first ammendment gaurenteed freedom of speach, the Supreme court ruled that during a time of war certain things were intolerable and if they caused direct danger to people then it was a criminal act. The "clear and present danger" that was depicted of Schnek's crime was what put Schneck in jail and set a precedent for other people protesting the war openly. It also did create a warning flag in society for socialism because the socialist party was growing very rapidly.