The Case That Gave Rise To The “Fire!” In A Crowded Theater Analogy— Schenck V. United States— Involved The Prosecution Of Charles Schenck
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who was the general secretary of the Socialist Party in Philadelphia. In 1917 a jury found Schenck guilty of attempting to cause insubordination among soldiers who had been drafted to fight in the First World War. He had circulated leaflets urging draftees not to “submit to intimidation” by fighting in a war being conducted on behalf of “Wall Street’s chosen few.” Schenck admitted that the intent of the pamphlet’s “impassioned language” was to “influence” draftees to resist the draft. Nothing in the pamphlet suggested that the draftees should use unlawful or violent means to oppose conscription. As Justice Holmes found: “In form at least [the pamphlet] confined itself to peaceful measures
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