At the onset of The Great War, an American socialist, Charles Schenck, began to spread posters all aimed at convincing Americans to aviod the draft. Schenck believed that the draft was a direct violation of the thirteenth amendment, for it demanded "involuntary servitude." As a result, he was charged for promoting insubordination in the military and violating the espionage act, which declared that it was ilegal to interfere with military efforts, war efforts, or recruitment. In Cout, Schneck tried to argue that he had the freedom of speech, granted to him in the first amendment of the constitution. However, the court ruled that in this case he did not have the freedom of speech since it created danger. This revealed the government's intention to expand its power upon the people during wartime. The decision was later overturned.
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