Dennis et. al. v. US (1951)
Eugene Dennis, along with the other heads of the United States Communist Party, was arrested in 1948 for promoting the overthrow of the American government. He was found in violation of the Smith Act, which made it a federal crime to spread sedition or advocate revolution. Dennis and his contemporaries challenged the legality of the Smith Act on the grounds that it violated the first amendment. The court decided otherwise, however. It drew a line between teaching communist philosophy and advocating it, a line which the Communist leaders had evidently crossed. As a result, Dennis remained in prison, and the descent into anti-communist paranoia continued. This correlates to the "clear and present danger" cited in the Schenck v. US case of 1919.
Eugene Dennis, along with the other heads of the United States Communist Party, was arrested in 1948 for promoting the overthrow of the American government. He was found in violation of the Smith Act, which made it a federal crime to spread sedition or advocate revolution. Dennis and his contemporaries challenged the legality of the Smith Act on the grounds that it violated the first amendment. The court decided otherwise, however. It drew a line between teaching communist philosophy and advocating it, a line which the Communist leaders had evidently crossed. As a result, Dennis remained in prison, and the descent into anti-communist paranoia continued. This correlates to the "clear and present danger" cited in the Schenck v. US case of 1919.