LAD #26

The case of Schenck against the United States left a large impression on the American justice system. This was a case where Schenck relied on his freedom of speech to air his views. However at this post war torn time, America had settled upon the Espionage Act. Essentially this act limited the freedom of speech and the basic freedoms that people like Schenck took for granted. At the end of the case the unanimous decision of guilty caused great uproar. The sentence delivered by Oliver Wendell Holmes was guilty because people's freedoms can be limited when they are causing a "clear and present" danger. This is still an idea we live by today, however the accusations against Schenck were argueably unjust. But at this time, when paranoia flooded American politics, our government decided it was better to restrict certain freedoms than provide the chance for our nation to be further torn apart.