The Progressive Era: Antiwar? Where is it?

 

The Progressive Era: Crash Course US History #27

The Progressive Era was a time of rapid change to society. Industrial Capitalism was becoming increasingly popular and the political system went through a serious change. Big companies wanted to keep cost down and profits high meaning that wages were low with long hours. These poor working conditions were able to be noted by a few people known as Much Rakers. They showed the bad within these companies such as child labor. Unions were organized and many big company owners were very against them. The progressive era continued to demonstrate a mass consumption society and modern capitalism seemed to ironically give people a new sense of freedom. Even with this new shift in society, there are still events that represent the secrets within US history that certain people don't want you to know about.

During this time period, Europe was going through WWI. Even though he promised neutrality, President Woodrow Wilson brought America into the war. Because of this change, there were many anti-war voices that were completely against being at war. Some SCOTAS cases to note during this time are Schenck v. United States, Debs v. United States, Frohwerk v. United States, and Abrams v. United States. All of these cases are people against the US, trying to express their beliefs about being Anti-War. There are some cases where these people may have not taken the best approach, btu it should still be noted about why these cases were heard. There was direct censorship of opinions that were opposed to the government's. Even if you don't agree with the opinions, it should still bring concern about the extent the government is will to go.

The question about how much the government is controlling about what people say begins to increase. The 1st Amendment is becoming blurry about what it does and doesn't protect when it comes to speaking against the government. These events about anti-war and people speaking against it is not just a thing in the past. Present day America is going through very similar things. There are whole websites of people speaking about Anti-War and their disagreement with the US government yet it is very rarely heard within public news sights such as CNN or Fox. Why is that?

Does the US government purposefully prevent these anti-war voices to be heard within the public? I don't know. I can't assume what the government is or isn't doing. All I can do is give you the information needed to find out for yourself and convince you that it is worth hearing. It is worth understanding the other side of the argument. Even if you don't agree with it, you can still learn something from this perspective.