LAD #31: Wilson's Fourteen Points

President Wilson wrote the Fourteen Points in hopes of establishing world peace. He thought that peace with Russia was an attainable short term goal, and that the reasons for which the Great War was fought were moral and justified. His fourteen points included: open and public treaties, freedom of the seas, removal of economic barriers and equal trade, reduction of weapons, impartial adjustment of colonial claims, an evacuation for Russia, sovereignty for Belgium, correction of the wrong-doings to France by the Prussians, readjustment of Italian borders, development of Austria-Hungary, evacuation of Rumania, Serbia and Montenegro, free passage for Turkish Romanians, creation of a sovereign Polish state, and an association of nations geared towards world peace and protection. The last point that Wilson noted evolved into the League of Nations, and was thought to be the most important by Wilson because he willingly compromised all of his other points for its creation. The Fourteen Points were an attempt to settle the war and prevent further conflicts, although later on this proved to be impossible.

LAD #30: Schenck vs. US

Schenck disliked the enlisting of soldiers under the Conscription Act, so he released a public message that stated that everyone should peacefully resist the Act placed during the Great War. He was charged with violating the Espionage Act for hindering recruitment. Holmes claimed that the First Amendment did not apply to the circumstance and could not protect Schenck's words. He explained that the US was at war, so they could not afford actions like Schenck's because they caused a "clear danger" to the nation. The government was afraid that people would listen to what Schenck said and therefore disobey the government. The case established the Congress as a restrictor of free speech during wartime when necessary.