Exploring American Histories: Printed Page 685
Interpret the Evidence
What elements of Mollie Steimer’s and Frayhayt’s arguments (Documents 21.5 and 21.6) would have seemed most threatening to the court and the American public?
Why does Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (Document 21.7) believe it is important to safeguard free speech rights? On what does he base his argument?
Where does Zechariah Chafee (Document 21.8) draw the line between free speech and unlawful activity?
According to A. Mitchell Palmer (Document 21.10), why is it necessary and constitutional to suppress the rights of Communists?
What does Billy Ireland’s cartoon (Document 21.9) conclude about the success of the American melting pot?
Compare the statements from Mollie Steimer, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and A. Mitchell Palmer. How does each define and understand anarchism and other radical ideologies?
Put It in Context
How did the Abrams case and the Red scare reflect the cultural and political anxieties of the 1920s?