Gavin's AP American Blog

Wilson's Points of Peace seem to be much more idealistic than realistic. While all of the points seem to make sense in theory, it seems extremely unlikely that all could have been successfully put into practice. For example, it is doubtful that any countries at the time would have been willing to reduce their armies to the bare minimum necessary for safety, especially after a World War had just occurred. In his 14th point, Wilson called for a "general association of nations" to be formed. This idea would turn into the League of Nations. However, the League of Nations failed when the United States Senate voted not to join it, leaving it mostly powerless. The League of Nations would eventually be replaced by the United Nations, which some still question the effectiveness of. Wilson's 14 Points of Peace Synthesis: United Nations

During the Great War, Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer distributed leaflets encouraging people to disobey the draft. This was illegal, and they were arrested for violating the Espionage Act of 1917. The Supreme Court had to decide whether the Espionage Act violated the First Amendment rights. In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that the Espionage Act was Constitutional because of Congress' wartime authority. Chief Justice Holmes wrote that this type of speech created danger, and was not protected under the First Amendment. Holmes compared the distribution of these flyers to yelling "Fire!" in the middle of a crowded theater. Chief Justice Oliver Holmes, who wrote the opinion of the Supreme Court for this case Synthesis: Yates v. United States was a 1957 Supreme Court case that ruled that radical and reactionary speech was protected by the First Amendment unless it was a "clear and present danger"