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.
Aliases (3)
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
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|
| citation |
249 U.S. 211
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|
| country |
United States
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|
| court |
Supreme Court of the United States
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|
| decisionDate |
1919
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|
| decisionType |
unanimous decision
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|
| defendant |
United States
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|
| defendantStatus |
Eugene V. Debs was a prominent labor organizer
→
Eugene V. Debs was a socialist leader → |
| fullCaseName |
Eugene V. Debs v. United States
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|
| holding |
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
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|
| laterCriticism |
criticized by civil libertarians for limiting political dissent
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|
| legalSubject |
Espionage Act of 1917
→
First Amendment to the United States Constitution → freedom of speech → |
| legalTestApplied |
clear and present danger test
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|
| opinionBy |
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
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|
| plaintiff |
Eugene V. Debs
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|
| precedentOf |
restriction of antiwar speech during wartime
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|
| reinforced |
broad limits on free speech during wartime
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|
| relatedConcept |
political dissent
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socialist movement in the United States → wartime civil liberties → |
| relatedEvent |
World War I
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|
| relatedLegislation |
Espionage Act of 1917
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|
| result |
conviction affirmed
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|
| 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
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|
| timePeriod |
World War I era
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|
Referenced by (7)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Abrams v. United States
→
Frohwerk v. United States → Schenck v. United States → |
relatedCase |
|
In re Debs
("Debs v. United States (informal name)")
→
|
alsoKnownAs |
|
Debs v. United States
("Eugene V. Debs v. United States")
→
|
fullCaseName |
|
Debs v. United States
("The First Amendment did not protect Debs’s antiwar speech under the circumstances of the case.")
→
|
holding |
|
Espionage Act of 1917
→
|
usedInCase |