The New York Times proclaimed, “America’s glorious fourth in this year of grace is more than likely to be written in the future histories of the entire world as one of the most portentous days that has ever dawned.”
The “Great Sedition Trial” uncovered shocking connections at the time with the German reich that we were fighting, and challenged the idea that the nation was of a single mind during the war. It also challenged exactly how far the national commitment to freedom of speech and opinion reached, especially in extraordinary times.