The Fear Within

Martelle (Blood Passion: The Ludlow Massacre and Class War in the American West) details the 1948 arrest and trial of 12 Communist Party USA members, who were accused of espionage and conspiracy in violation of the Smith Act, which prohibited inciting acts of force and violence against the government. He carefully describes the primary defense argument, namely, that these people did nothing more than teach a doctrine and therefore the government's case amounted to political repression. The author underscores the defense argument that the constitutionality of the Smith Act is suspect because of its inherent conflict with the First Amendment and that because the allegations involved no acts, they did not constitute a clear and present danger to the government. Nevertheless, 11 of the accused were convicted, and the author concludes that the judge's charge to the jury was the deciding factor, as guilt rode on the defendants' intent to overthrow the government and their use of words as a rule for action.