Blog Post Five: Antiwar

 One of the numerous news stories influenced by politics is the anti-war debate. Because so many people in society did not want to hear about other people's differing beliefs, they frequently ended up in jail, especially during the Progressive Era. Due to the First Amendment's protections and the freedom of speech, it created a problem. For a variety of reasons, America did not want to deal with antiwar sentiment. Because the US attempted to silence those who hold these opinions, many people are unaware of some subjects covered on ANTIWAR.COM.

One reason the government is big on war is the fact that it is a lucrative industry. The combative labor organization Industrial Workers of the World War I staged more than thirty free speech protests in the United States between 1907 and 1916. Local law enforcement officials were angered by the inflammatory, pro-union, anti-capitalist speeches of socialist and anarchist speakers. Even though succeeding anti-war groups, like those of the Vietnam Era, have attracted more scholarly and public attention, the narrative of the first American anti-war movement of the 20th century is significant for its tremendous organizational and ideological evolution over the duration of World War I. Tho opposition to World War I began with the pacifist movement in the early 19th century. The anti-war movement of 1914 was far from being a populist mass movement and was initially dominated by Progressive establishment politicians, important businesspeople, and upper-class intellectuals. 

Americans still argue today over what free speech is, who is entitled to it, and how it should be defined. The American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) keeps busy protecting and preserving the individual rights and liberties that are guaranteed to all Americans by the Constitution and laws of the United States in courts, legislatures, and communities around the country.