Question

1. debs v us

eugene v. debs was an american labor and political leader and five - time socialist party candidate for american president (unsuccessfully). in 1918, he gave a speech in canton, ohio where he protested us involvement in world war i. while debs had edited his speech and made it less controversial and revolutionary, the government said that based on his initial typed up speech which they had access to he should be arrested and serve jail time because his intent had been to protest the war. what he had initially wanted was for people to not allow themselves to be drafted and rise up against the government if forced to. he also praised people already imprisoned for obstructing the draft. debs argued that he had edited his speeches so that they complied with the espionage act of 1917 and was protected under his first amendment right to free speech and should therefore not receive any punishment. he also claimed that they could not prove that anyone had not reported that had been drafted based on his speech or actions.
do you believe he is guilty or not guilty? why? if guilty, what should his punishment be?

Explanation:

Debs was convicted under the Espionage Act. His initial intent (as per the government - based on the initial typed speech) was to encourage actions against the draft (people not allowing themselves to be drafted and rising against the government if forced). The Supreme Court in Debs v US (1919) upheld his conviction. The "clear and present danger" doctrine (used in Schenck v US 1919, which was a similar case) was relevant. Even though he edited the speech, the government focused on his initial intent. Regarding punishment, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison (which was the actual punishment he received, and it was in line with the severity of violating the Espionage Act during a time of war (World War I)).

Answer:

Guilty. His initial intent (as per the government's view based on the initial speech) was to incite actions against the draft (a violation of the Espionage Act). The punishment could be imprisonment (he was actually sentenced to 10 years in prison).