California Criminal Syndicalism Act
E675184
The California Criminal Syndicalism Act was a controversial early 20th-century state law that criminalized advocacy of violent or revolutionary means for political or industrial change, later scrutinized and effectively discredited in landmark free speech cases.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
anti-syndicalism law
ⓘ
criminal law ⓘ state statute ⓘ |
| aimedAt |
Industrial Workers of the World
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
anarchist movements ⓘ communist movements ⓘ radical labor organizations ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
industrial advocacy
ⓘ
political advocacy ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
constitutional law
ⓘ
criminal law ⓘ labor law ⓘ |
| constitutionalIssue |
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
freedom of association ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criticizedFor |
overbreadth
ⓘ
use against political dissenters ⓘ vagueness ⓘ violating freedom of speech ⓘ |
| describedAs |
controversial early 20th-century state law
ⓘ
tool of political repression in California ⓘ |
| hasEffect | chilled radical political and labor speech in California ⓘ |
| historicalPeriod | First Red Scare NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| influenced | similar criminal syndicalism laws in other U.S. states ⓘ |
| influencedBy | national anti-radical sentiment ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
California, United States
ⓘ
surface form:
State of California
|
| legacy |
cited in discussions of free speech protections for radical advocacy
ⓘ
example of overbroad suppression of political speech ⓘ |
| legalDefinition | criminalized advocacy of crime, sabotage, violence, or other unlawful methods of terrorism as a means of accomplishing industrial or political change ⓘ |
| legalStatus |
effectively discredited
ⓘ
largely unenforceable after mid-20th century ⓘ |
| legislativeBody | California State Legislature NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mainSubject |
criminal syndicalism
ⓘ
freedom of speech ⓘ labor radicalism ⓘ political radicalism ⓘ |
| motivatedBy |
anti-anarchism
ⓘ
anti-communism ⓘ fear of radical labor movements ⓘ |
| prohibited |
advocacy of violent means for industrial change
ⓘ
advocacy of violent means for political change ⓘ membership in organizations that advocated criminal syndicalism ⓘ organizing or assisting organizations that advocated criminal syndicalism ⓘ |
| relatedCase | Brandenburg v. Ohio NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| scrutinizedIn | Whitney v. California NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| testCase | Whitney v. California NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedFor |
prosecution of labor activists
ⓘ
prosecution of political radicals ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.