Schenck v United States
Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer, members of the Socialist Party, printed and sent letters to conscripted (drafted by the military) men in the midst of World War I. These socialists claimed that the draft violated the 13th Amendment (banned coerced labor), and that they had the right to send out these letters via the First Amendment (freedom of speech). They were convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917, which prohibited intervention with military activity, specifically the draft and recruitment.
Breakdown Verdict.
The court unanimously ruled against Charles Schenck. Led by Justice Holmes Jr., they shared that wartime justified the greater restrictions on free speech. When national safety is at risk, the justice deemed it constitutional to mitigate that risk at the expense of specific personal liberties. The most famous example was that “free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing panic”. Thus, the clear and present danger test was created, where “the character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done”; if speech poses a threat to immediate safety (such as Schenck’s letters that could prevent the war effort), then it is not justified.
Result Going Forward.
The ruling of Schenck v United States prevented many people from speaking out about certain issues such as wars, labor conditions, or the economic status quo. Mainly, the First Red Scare (anti-communist panic) was given a lot of jurisdiction from this ruling, since it enabled the destruction of labor unions and certain political belief groups. This case’s ideology was overturned by Brandenburg v Ohio (1969).
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