Debs v. United States
E55665
Debs v. United States was a 1919 U.S. Supreme Court case in which socialist leader Eugene V. Debs’s conviction for antiwar speech was upheld, reinforcing broad limits on free speech during wartime.
All labels observed (4)
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
First Amendment case
ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ World War I era case ⓘ free speech case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
constitutional law
ⓘ
criminal law ⓘ |
| charge | violating the Espionage Act of 1917 ⓘ |
| citation | 249 U.S. 211 ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1919 ⓘ |
| decisionType | unanimous decision ⓘ |
| defendant |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| defendantStatus |
Eugene V. Debs
ⓘ
surface form:
Eugene V. Debs was a prominent labor organizer
Eugene V. Debs ⓘ
surface form:
Eugene V. Debs was a socialist leader
|
| fullCaseName |
Debs v. United States
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Eugene V. Debs v. United States
|
| holding |
Debs v. United States
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
The First Amendment did not protect Debs’s antiwar speech under the circumstances of the case.
The Supreme Court ruled that Debs’s speech created a permissible basis for criminal liability during wartime. ⓘ The Supreme Court upheld Eugene V. Debs’s conviction under the Espionage Act for antiwar speech. ⓘ |
| impact |
became an important precedent in early First Amendment jurisprudence
ⓘ
contributed to a restrictive interpretation of free speech during wartime ⓘ |
| issue |
Whether Debs’s antiwar speech was protected by the First Amendment.
ⓘ
Whether Debs’s speech presented a clear and present danger justifying criminal punishment. ⓘ |
| languageOfWork | English ⓘ |
| laterCriticism | criticized by civil libertarians for limiting political dissent ⓘ |
| legalSubject |
Espionage Act of 1917
ⓘ
First Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ freedom of speech ⓘ |
| legalTestApplied | clear and present danger test ⓘ |
| opinionBy | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ⓘ |
| plaintiff | Eugene V. Debs ⓘ |
| precedentOf | restriction of antiwar speech during wartime ⓘ |
| reinforced | broad limits on free speech during wartime ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
political dissent
ⓘ
socialist movement in the United States ⓘ wartime civil liberties ⓘ |
| relatedEvent | World War I ⓘ |
| relatedLegislation | Espionage Act of 1917 ⓘ |
| result | conviction affirmed ⓘ |
| similarToCase |
Frohwerk v. United States
ⓘ
Schenck v. United States ⓘ |
| speechContext |
antiwar speech
ⓘ
speech criticizing World War I ⓘ speech opposing military conscription ⓘ |
| subsequentDevelopment | later First Amendment cases adopted more protective standards for political speech ⓘ |
| timePeriod | World War I era ⓘ |
Referenced by (10)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
In re Debs
this entity surface form:
Debs v. United States (informal name)
this entity surface form:
Eugene V. Debs v. United States
this entity surface form:
The First Amendment did not protect Debs’s antiwar speech under the circumstances of the case.