The Smith Act trials of Communist Party leaders were a series of trials held from 1949 to 1958 in which leaders of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) were accused of violating the Smith Act, a 1940 statute that set penalties for advocating the violent overthrow of the government. The prosecution argued that the CPUSA's policies promoted violent revolution; the defendants countered that they advocated a peaceful transition to socialism, and that the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech and association protected their membership in a political party. The first trial in 1949 prosecuted the top leaders of the party and was featured in the national headlines. After a ten month trial, all defendants were found guilty and sentenced to five year prison terms. The judge also sent all five defense attorneys to jail for contempt of court. Prosecutors then tried over 100 additional CPUSA officers for violating the Smith Act. Some were tried solely because they were members of the CPUSA. Many defendants had difficulty finding attorneys to represent them. Prosecutions came to an end following the US Supreme Court's 1957 Yates v. United States decision, which held that defendants could be prosecuted only for their actions, not for their beliefs. Membership in the CPUSA plummeted due to the trials, and never recovered.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Act_trials_of_Communist_Party_leaders
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
636:
Rashidun forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid took control of Syria and Palestine in the Battle of Yarmouk, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests after the death of Muhammad. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yarmouk
1710:
War of the Spanish Succession: The Spanish-Bourbon army commanded by the Marquis de Bay was soundly defeated by a multinational army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saragossa
1882:
The 1812 Overture by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was first performed at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture
1988:
Fires in the United States' Yellowstone National Park destroyed more than 150,000 acres (610 km2), the single-worst day of the conflagration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_fires_of_1988
1989:
The final stage of the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South Australia, was completed, becoming the world's longest and fastest guided busway with buses travelling a total of 12 km (7.5 mi) at maximum speeds up to 100 km/h (62 mph) (example pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-Bahn_Busway
2008:
Spanair Flight 5022 crashed just after take off from Madrid's Barajas Airport, killing 154 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanair_Flight_5022
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
disembogue: 1. To come out into the open sea from a river etc. 2. (of a river or waters) To pour out, to debouch; to flow out through a narrow opening into a larger space. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disembogue
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Futurists and common sense concur that a substantial change, worldwide, in life style and moral guidelines will soon become an absolute necessity. --Roger Wolcott Sperry https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Wolcott_Sperry