Summary: American progressivism and the emergence of socialist muckrakers made an impact on the American war effort during the Great War. In March of 1919, an American socialist, Charles Schenck faced the Supreme Court in a battle over the government's suppression of wartime rights. Schenck was known as a radical, working constantly during the war to encourage men to "draft dodge". Progressives believed this draft to be unconstitutional due to the violatoin of the thirteenth amendment, which outlawed involuntary servitude. The Federal government had issued the Espionage Act during the war, which, like the sedition Act, suppressed the citizenry's freedom of speech. The Act was often an excuse to round up and imprison socialists/anti-militarists/anarchists who posed a threat to the war effort. It was for this reason, his attacks on the draft, that Schenck was arrested. Schenck eventually made an appeal to the Supreme Court, which was heard.
The basis of his argument was that the Espionage Act was unconstitutional, violating, as was said, his First Amendment rights.
Justice Oliver Holmes articulated the idea that when free speech presents a "clear and apparent danger", especially during war time, freedom of speech is not guaranteed. Schecnk's anti war writings had presented a danger to the U.S. war effort and attempted to incite military insubordination. These "clearly" dangerous actions resulted in the Supreme Court unanimously voting against him. Laws have changed since, but this is the basis of wartime law.
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