In June 1918, with the war in its final months, the great American labor leader, Socialist
and pacifist Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926) addressed the Ohio state meeting of the
Socialist Party. In this speech that led to his arrest under the Sedition Act, Debs
sounded familiar refrains of the anti-war cause and enjoined his audience to continue
speaking out as a matter of patriotic duty and conscience, despite the repressed
wartime atmosphere. Debs was arguably the most famous of the many radicals who
opposed America’s participation in World War I. Unlike European socialists, who
generally supported their government’s entry into the war, Debs argued that the war was
waged by capitalists for their own gain, pitting workers of one country against workers of
another. Read an excerpt from the Espionage Act itself and watch the short excerpt of
Debs 1918 speech. Then answer the three questions below within the framework of the
rubric.
1. Excerpt of the Espionage Act 1918
Section 3: “Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey
false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of
the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies
and whoever when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause
insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the
United States, or shall willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United
States, to the injury of the services or of the United States, shall be punished by a fine
of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both.”
1. Does the Espionage Act pose any threats to the rights and liberties of
American citizens? How or why?
2. What about the character of Debs and his historical presence would lead him
to be made an example of by the state?
3. Why during times of war are civil liberties circumvented in the interest of
national security? Is this something that you as a person living now are willing
to give up during times of war and do you agree or disagree with the
sentiment being made by Debs?
Watch the video
Mark Ruffalo reads Eugene Debs
