Charlotte Anita Whitney was a daughter of a lawyer George Edwin Whitney and Mary Lewis Whitney. She was born on July 7, 1867 to an affluent family, whose members included Supreme Court Justice Stephen Johnson Field, and the multi-millionaire Cyrus W. Field. She grew up in the times of the Reconstruction Era, the times when former slaves experienced yet again tremendous persecutions from whites, and when white southern politicians passed black codes, voter qualifications, and other anti-progressive legislation to reverse the rights of blacks. She saw the corruption and abuse that the power leads to. Anita was very well educated. She went to both private and public schools in Oakland, California. She then attended liberal Wellesley College. Upon
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(Charities: A Weekly Review of Local and General Philanthropy, vol. 7, no. 1 (July–December 1901), pg. 348.) Yet, she desired more, so in order to lead change and empower women, she became an active member of women’s suffrage. By 1911, Whitney begun organizing National College Equal Suffrage League. Later she became Vice President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1914, she finally joined the Socialist Party of America, a faction that strongly opposed American involvement in World War I, as well as called for draft resistance. The Socialist party stood for the abolition of every form of domination and exploitation. It denounced the capitalist system as incompetent and corrupt and believed that it was the source of unspeakable misery and suffering to the whole working …show more content…
entry into World War I, The Espionage Act of 1917 was passed. The Act was supposed to prevent the support of U.S. enemies during wartime, as well as insubordination in the military. It was also meant to protect the military operations and recruitment from those who openly opposed it, such as the communist and socialist parties and unions. Many famous people were charged with offenses under the Act, among them presidential candidate and leader of the Socialist Party of America Eugene V. Debs, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, as well as recently NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden. A year later, the Act was extended by the Sedition Act of 1918. The amendment to the Espionage Act prohibited many forms of speech that was abusive of the form, profane, and disloyal of the government, the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy. It also cover a wider range of offenses, such as notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds. The Sedition Act of 1918 stated that people or countries cannot say negative things about the government or the war. A few years after, the Acts was amended again, to prevent the disclosure of foreign code, or anything sent in
(Charities: A Weekly Review of Local and General Philanthropy, vol. 7, no. 1 (July–December 1901), pg. 348.) Yet, she desired more, so in order to lead change and empower women, she became an active member of women’s suffrage. By 1911, Whitney begun organizing National College Equal Suffrage League. Later she became Vice President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1914, she finally joined the Socialist Party of America, a faction that strongly opposed American involvement in World War I, as well as called for draft resistance. The Socialist party stood for the abolition of every form of domination and exploitation. It denounced the capitalist system as incompetent and corrupt and believed that it was the source of unspeakable misery and suffering to the whole working …show more content…
entry into World War I, The Espionage Act of 1917 was passed. The Act was supposed to prevent the support of U.S. enemies during wartime, as well as insubordination in the military. It was also meant to protect the military operations and recruitment from those who openly opposed it, such as the communist and socialist parties and unions. Many famous people were charged with offenses under the Act, among them presidential candidate and leader of the Socialist Party of America Eugene V. Debs, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, as well as recently NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden. A year later, the Act was extended by the Sedition Act of 1918. The amendment to the Espionage Act prohibited many forms of speech that was abusive of the form, profane, and disloyal of the government, the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy. It also cover a wider range of offenses, such as notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds. The Sedition Act of 1918 stated that people or countries cannot say negative things about the government or the war. A few years after, the Acts was amended again, to prevent the disclosure of foreign code, or anything sent in