Whitney v. California - Significance, Supreme Court Upholds California Criminal Syndicalism Law, The California Criminal Syndicalism Act, Further Readings

Whitney v. California - Further Readings

Whitney v. California - Significance

The concurrence was actually more important than the opinion of the Court in Whitney. In 1919, California passed a law criminalizing syndicalism, a philosophy which advocated bringing government and industry under the control of labor through "direct action," such as strikes. The law was aimed chiefly at the International Workers of the World (IWW), or "Wobblies," a radical labor group then active…

Whitney v. California - Supreme Court Upholds California Criminal Syndicalism Law

The conservative Court headed by Taft voted 9 to 0 to uphold the California statute, as well as Whitney's conviction. As Justice Sanford wrote in his opinion for the Court, the state has the right--even the duty--to protect itself and its citizens from violent political action. However, although the vote was unanimous, there was more than one opinion in the case, and it is Justice Brandeis's concu…

Whitney v. California - The California Criminal Syndicalism Act

As with the era of McCarthyism in the 1950s, the Red Scare of the late 1910s and early 1920s followed a world war. In both cases, the winding down of international hostilities had been attended by the spread of Communism: thus after World War II, Communists took over numerous countries in Europe, and to many Americans, a Soviet takeover of the United States seemed possible if not imminent. Respond…