September 18
1917
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Elihu Root. During World War I, the former secretary of state, U.S. senator, and Nobel Prize laureate headed an organization called the American Protective League, whose 250,000 members, private citizens all, worked in cooperation with the forerunner to FBI to root out "sedition" and ensure "100% Americanism." |
| Class tonight focuses on World War I, on both the domestic and international arenas. As with contemporary events, the Great War featured a debate over how far the government should go to restrict civil liberties in the name of national security. |
READING:
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Cooper, Warrior and the Priest, chapters 16-18 (those of you who bought the Knock book, read from chapter 9-on) |
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Reading notes for Knock reading |
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And, if you still haven't gotten the books--don't worry about it; just read the documents closely. |
DOCUMENTS:
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Espionage Act |
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Schenck v. U.S. (1918), upholding the Espionage Act |
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Peace without Victory address |
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War declaration |
Also, I like to reference current events from time to time in class--to keep track, check out the web watch, updated daily.