What It Means to Be a Progressive
Bryan Caplan has had several good posts about Ralph Raico’s new book. One in particular notes that Woodrow Wilson was much worse than Joe McCarthy. Much, much worse:
Wilson sounded the keynote for the ruthless suppression of anyone who interfered with his war effort: “Woe be to the man or group of men that seeks to stand in our way in this day of high resolution.” His Attorney General Thomas W. Gregory seconded the President, stating, of opponents of the war: “May God have mercy on them, for they need expect none from an outraged people and an avenging government.”
The Espionage Act of 1917, amended the next year by the addition of the Sedition Act, went far beyond punishing spies. Its real target was opinion. It was deployed particularly against socialists and critics of conscription. People were jailed for questioning the constitutionality of the draft and arrested for criticizing the Red Cross. A woman was prosecuted and convicted for telling a women’s group that “the government is for the profiteers.” A movie producer was sentenced to three years in prison for a film, The Spirit of ’76, which was deemed anti-British. Eugene V. Debs, who had polled 900,000 votes in 1912 as presidential candidate of the Socialist Party, was sentenced to ten years in prison for criticizing the war at a rally of his party.
Here’s more on the topic by David Henderson.
Very good. Hardly anyone writes about the progressives. But now that all the “liberals” have started calling themselves “progressives” it’s time to expose the history behind that term.
No doubt that Wilson was much worse than McCarthy. The problem seems to be the size of government. More government means less freedom.
Thanks for posting this. This is really interesting.
The progressives were fascists (but without the gas chambers). Do you think it’s an accident that Roosevelt’s plan to reshape the whole American economy with the National Industrial Recovery Act was modeled after Musssolini’s fascist system in italy?
The amount of trampling on the Constitution that has taken place under the guise of being in the public interest is shocking. This is an example of freedom of speech being curtailed to suit a political agenda. We are always told this only happens in other (less civilized) countries.
Sieg Heil.