Topic: World War I

Jun 16,

1915

University of Pennsylvania Fires Scott Nearing Over Radical Economic Views

Feb 10,

1917

Columbia University Bans Tolstoy’s Son as “Persona Non Grata”

Feb 17,

1917

Senators Denounce Proposed Espionage Bill as War Is Imminent

Mar 4,

1917

Jeannette Rankin Takes Seat as the First Woman in the U.S. Congress; Votes Against U.S. Entry in Both World Wars

Mar 4,

1917

Suffragists Picket President Wilson’s Second Inauguration

Apr 2,

1917

President Wilson Seeks Declaration of War, To Make World Safe for Democracy – Warns of Repression

Apr 6,

1917

Congress Declares War – Suppression of Civil Liberties Begins

Apr 7,

1917

President Wilson Issues Secret Loyalty Order

May 11,

1917

Bureau of Legal Advice Established to Aid World War I Opponents

May 18,

1917

Anarchist Emma Goldman Denounces WW I Draft, Is Soon Arrested, Deported

May 18,

1917

Congress Creates World War I Draft: Protests, Civil Liberties Violations Follow

Jun 4,

1917

President Wilson, Cabinet Approve Vigilante American Protective League

Jul 3,

1917

“Slacker Raids” Round Up Alleged Draft Evaders in WW I

Jul 7,

1917

Government Repression Hits Socialist Opponents of War

Jul 7,

1917

Suppression of Dissent: “The Masses,” Anti-War Magazine, Held Non-Mailable

Jul 13,

1917

Activists Protest Post Office Censorship of Anti-War Publications

Jul 16,

1917

“War’s Heretics” – Norman Thomas Makes Historic Plea for the Value of Heresy, Dissent in a Democracy

Jul 24,

1917

A Brief Halt to WW I Repression: “Masses v. Patten”

Aug 11,

1917

“Kaiser Wilson” – Suffragists Picket White House

Sep 5,

1917

Government Raids Socialist Party Offices; Publications Halted

Sep 16,

1917

Pacifists Arrested for Protesting WW I, Celebrating the Constitution

Oct 6,

1917

“Free Speech in Wartime” Defended by Senator Robert M. LaFollette

Oct 6,

1917

Trading With the Enemy Act Passed – Used to Censor Foreign Language Press

Oct 28,

1917

Anti-War Minister Kidnapped, Beaten Near Cincinnati

Nov 1,

1917

National Civil Liberties Bureau Reports Sweeping Government Censorship

Dec 14,

1917

Kate Richards O’Hare Denounces World War I; Gets Five Years in Prison

Jan 1,

1918

Condoms for Troops in WW I

Jan 7,

1918

Supreme Court Rules Draft Does Not Violate 13th Amendment

Apr 27,

1918

Hung Jury: “The Masses” Editors Not Convicted

May 16,

1918

Sedition Act Passed: World War I Repression Intensifies

Jun 22,

1918

Philosopher John Dewey Sees Social Benefits of War

Aug 10,

1918

A. Philip Randolph, Future Civil Rights Giant, Arrested for Distributing Anti-War Magazine in Cleveland

Sep 2,

1918

Theodore Roosevelt: Men Who Loaf on Defense Jobs Are “Traitors”

Sep 3,

1918

“Slacker Raids” in New York Round up 10,000

Sep 14,

1918

Eugene Debs Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Anti-War Speech

Sep 14,

1918

WW I Conscientious Objectors Chained in Solitary Confinement, Dark Unsanitary Cells

Oct 11,

1918

New York City Women Destroy German Language Phonograph Records

Nov 25,

1918

“Patriotic” Mob Attacks Socialist Rand School of Social Science

Dec 9,

1918

Socialist Victor Berger on Trial for Violating Espionage Act

Dec 22,

1918

Randolph Bourne, Fierce WW I Critic, Dies

Mar 1,

1919

National Civil Liberties Bureau Issues Comprehensive Report on WW I Rights Violations

Jul 4,

1919

Police Threats Cancel Civil Liberties Bureau Meeting at Carnegie Hall

Jul 13,

1919

WWI Over, But U.S. Still Prosecutes Draft Evaders

Nov 10,

1919

American Legion Founded – Begins Anti-Civil Liberties Crusade

Nov 10,

1919

Victor Berger Expelled From House of Representatives for Socialist, Anti-War Views

Dec 16,

1919

Plan for “March in Manacles” to Protest WW I Political Prisoners

Jan 11,

1920

German Officials Slander African-American Troops

May 28,

1920

Prominent Lawyers Issue Report Condemning Palmer Raids

Dec 13,

1920

Brandies Dissents as Supreme Court Upholds Minnesota Conviction of Anti-War Leader

Sep 15,

1921

War Department Removes 17 Alleged WW I “Slackers” From its List

Dec 25,

1921

President Harding Pardons Eugene V. Debs

Apr 29,

1922

“Children’s Crusade:” Families of Political Prisoners Picket White House Seeking Amnesty

Jun 11,

1922

Joint Amnesty Committee Formed to Seek Release of Imprisoned WWI Dissidents

May 14,

1940

Emma Goldman, Anarchist, Anti-WW I Activist, Feminist, Birth Control Advocate, Dies

May 3,

2006

Victims of WW I Repression Pardoned in Montana

Jun 2,

2015

African-American Soldier Awarded Medal of Honor – 97 Years Late

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