Because he could. Nobody gave a rat's ass about Debs because he was a communist and so Wilson the serial bully took advantage of it. Yeah, we've had a fair number of bad Presidents over the years (Fillmore, Johnson 1, Johnson 2, Nixon, Hoover, McKinley, FDR, TR, Bush 2, etc.) but Wilson, for some reason I find him particularly disgusting and this is a pitch-perfect example of why.
Debs was quite a destructive individual, with some dubious activities. Regardless, his making a speech (what got him in big trouble) was entirely protected in the Constitution.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. was a nation under lockdown during Wilson's reign, pure and simple.
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