The Progressive Era

The progressive era was a turbulent time in the grand scheme of US history. This is largely due to World War I which began in 1914 with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria. Though the war started in 1914, the United States did not join until 1917, a decision that was somewhat unfavorable as the U.S. had pledged neutrality, which was largely favored. From 1917 to 1919 there was a large ripple effect from the entrance of the United States into the war. In 1917, Congress passed the espionage act which was a way to prosecute someone for what they said or wrote, if they undermined the war effort. In 1918, the sedition act was put into place. The sedition act made it a crime to criticize the government, which was also directly related to the war effort. Moving into 1919, the “quartet of cases” took place. The “quartet of cases” were four prominent supreme court cases (Schneck, Debs, Frohwerk, and Abrams) that caused shifts in the way things are understood today. The common underlier of all four of these cases was the relation of the defendants to the anti-war effort and they all concerned the Espionage Act of 1917. 

War, as we have seen in the past, has caused extensive damage and detrimental effects. It is also considered a generally sensitive topic in the United States. This can be seen through the events predating and following the progressive era in which people were prosecuted for criticizing the government. This created a sense of fear in the American people that can still be seen today. What happened during World War I, World War II, and perhaps the most sensitive war to discuss in the US, the civil war was an attempt by the government to silence those who have spoken out against war. This stems from the image the government wishes to maintain at all times. For example, the president can be seen as an image and a physical idea of the power of the executive branch. When searching for anything modern that contains anti-war sentiments, little to none can be found from sources of mainstream news feeds. I believe this is due to not only the same fear instilled in people decades ago, but also the connections these large mainstream media outlets have to social, political, and religious entities. It’s almost jarring to look at both the anti-war and the American conservative websites as it shows that there are anti-war voices, they’re just buried under mainstream media.