382 BLACK, J., dissenting. religion. Yet in the hour of crisis, an overwhelming majority of the English Catholics thus persecuted rallied loyally to defend their homeland against Spain and its Catholic troops. And in our own country Jefferson and his followers were earnestly accused of subversive allegiance to France." At the time, imposition of civil disability on all members of his political party must have seemed at least as desirable as does § 9 (h) today. For at stake, so many believed, was the survival of a newlyfounded nation, not merely a few potential interruptions of commerce by strikes "political" rather than economic in origin. 735 Eliz. c. 2, for example, was aimed at "sundry wicked and seditious Persons, who terming themselves Catholicks, and being indeed Spies and Intelligencers, . . . and hiding their most detestable and devilish Purposes under a false Pretext of Religion and Conscience, do secretly wander and shift from Place to Place within this Realm, to corrupt and seduce her Majesty's Subjects, and to stir them to Sedition and Rebellion." 8 As is evidenced by the statute quoted in note 7 supra, the test oaths, the drastic restrictions and the punishment imposed on Catholics were "based on the assumption that all Catholics were politically hostile to the Queen, and were at one with Allen and the Jesuits in seeking her deposition and the conquest of the country by Spain. The patriotic action of the Catholics at home through the crisis of the Spanish Armada proved the weakness of this assumption. In the hour of peril the English Catholics placed loyalty to their Queen and country before all other considerations. . . . The injustice of imputing treachery to the whole Catholic population was proved beyond question." 3 Cambridge Modern History 351. Castigating Jefferson and his followers as "jacobins," a "French faction" guilty of "subversion," Fisher Ames warned: "[T]he jacobins have at last made their own discipline perfect: they are trained, officered, regimented and formed to subordination, in a manner that our militia have never yet equalled. . . . [A]nd it is as certain as any future event can be, that they will take arms against the laws as soon as they dare . . . Ames, Laocoon, printed in Works of Fisher Ames 94, 101, 106 (Boston, 1809). BLACK, J., dissenting. 339 U.S. These experiences underline the wisdom of the basic constitutional precept that penalties should be imposed only for a person's own conduct, not for his beliefs or for the conduct of others with whom he may associate. Guilt should not be imputed solely from association or affiliation with political parties or any other organization, however much we abhor the ideas which they advocate. Schneiderman v. United States, 320 U. S. 118, 136-139.10 Like anyone else, individual Communists who commit overt acts in violation of valid laws can and should be punished. But the postulate of the First Amendment is that our free institutions can be maintained without proscribing or penalizing political belief, speech, press, assembly, or party affiliation." This is a far bolder philosophy 10 And see, e. g., John Lord O'Brian, Loyalty Tests and Guilt by Association, 61 Harv. L. Rev. 592. That article quotes the following from a Memorial submitted to the New York Assembly by a special committee of the Bar Association of the City of New York protesting the suspension of five Socialist legislators: "it is of the essence of the institutions of liberty that it be recognized that guilt is personal and cannot be attributed to the holding of opinion or to mere intent in the absence of overt acts . . . O'Brian points out that this Memorial was "largely written by" Charles Evans Hughes. Id. at 594. 11 "If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. I know, indeed, that some honest men fear that a republican government cannot be strong; that this government is not strong enough. But would the honest patriot, in the full tide of successful experiment, abandon a government which has so far kept us free and firm, on the theoretic and visionary fear that this government, the world's best hope, may by possibility want energy to preserve itself?" Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801. This address, along with other writings on freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, is reprinted in Jones, Primer of Intellectual Freedom 142 (Harvard University Press, 1949). 382 BLACK, J., dissenting. than despotic rulers can afford to follow. It is the heart of the system on which our freedom depends. 12 Fears of alien ideologies have frequently agitated the nation and inspired legislation aimed at suppressing advocacy of those ideologies. At such times the fog of public excitement obscures the ancient landmarks set up in our Bill of Rights. Yet then, of all times, should this Court adhere most closely to the course they mark. This was done in De Jonge v. Oregon, 299 U. S. 353, 365, where the Court struck down a state statute making it a crime to participate in a meeting conducted by Communists. It had been stipulated that the Communist Party advocated violent overthrow of the Government. Speaking through Chief Justice Hughes, a unanimous Court calmly announced time-honored principles that should govern this Court today: "The greater the importance of safeguarding the community from incitements to the overthrow of our institutions by force and violence, the more imperative is the need to preserve inviolate the constitutional rights of free speech, free press and free assembly in order to maintain the opportunity for free political discussion, to the end that government may be responsive to the will of the people and that changes, if desired, may be obtained by peaceful means. Therein lies the security of the Republic, the very foundation of constitutional government." 12 For discussion of early American models, the Alien and Sedition Acts, see Bowers, Jefferson and Hamilton, 1925, c. XVI, "Hysterics," and c. XVII, "The Reign of Terror"; 1 Morison, Life of Otis, c. VIII, "A System of Terror." INTERNATIONAL UNION OF UNITED AUTOMOBILE, ETC. WORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. O., ET AL. v. O'BRIEN, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, ET AL. APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF MICHIGAN. No. 456. Argued March 30, 1950.—Decided May 8, 1950. The strike-vote provisions of the Michigan labor mediation law, Mich. Comp. Laws, 1948, §§ 423.1 et seq., which prohibit the calling of a strike unless a state-prescribed procedure for mediation is followed and unless a majority of the employees in a state-defined bargaining unit authorizes the strike in a state-conducted election, conflict with the National Labor Relations Act, as amended by the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and are invalid under the Commerce. Clause of the Federal Constitution. Pp. 455–459. 325 Mich. 250, 38 N. W. 2d 421, reversed. In a suit by appellants to enjoin possible criminal prosecution for a violation of Mich. Comp. Laws. 1948. §§ 423.1 et seq., a Michigan trial court held those sections invalid. under the Federal Constitution. The Supreme Court of Michigan reversed. 325 Mich. 250, 38 N. W. 2d 421. On appeal to this Court, reversed, p. 459. Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. argued the cause for appellants. With him on the brief was Irving J. Levy. By special leave of Court, David P. Findling argued the cause for the National Labor Relations Board, as amicus curiae, urging reversal. With him on the brief were Solicitor General Perlman, Robert N. Denham and Mozart G. Ratner. Ruth Weyand was also of counsel. Edmund E. Shepherd, Solicitor General of Michigan, argued the cause for appellees. With him on the brief were Stephen J. Roth, Attorney General, and Daniel J. O'Hara, Assistant Attorney General. Philip A. McHugh was also of counsel. 454 Opinion of the Court. David Previant and George S. Fitzgerald filed a brief for the Michigan State Federation of Labor et al., as amici curiae, urging reversal. Briefs of amici curiae supporting appellees were filed by Thomas E. Fairchild, Attorney General, Stewart G. Honeck, Deputy Attorney General, and Beatrice Lampert, Assistant Attorney General, of Wisconsin, and Harold R. Fatzer, Attorney General of Kansas, on behalf of the States of Kansas and Wisconsin; and by Leon B. Lamfrom for the Employers Association of Milwaukee. MR. CHIEF JUSTICE VINSON delivered the opinion of the Court. 1 The constitutionality of the strike vote provision of the Michigan labor mediation law is before us in this case. Appellants struck against Chrysler Corporation in May, 1948, without conforming to the prescribed state procedure. The strike was called to enforce demands for 1 Mich. Stat. Ann. (Cum. Supp. 1949) §§ 17.454 (1) et seq.; Mich. Comp. Laws, 1948, §§ 423.1 et seq. At the time of appellants' strike, the pertinent provisions of the law read as follows: "Sec. 9. No strike or lockout shall take place or be put into effect until and unless each of the steps have been taken and the requirements complied with as provided in this act. "1. In the event the parties thereto are unable to settle any dispute, the employees or their representative, in the case of impending strike, or the employer or his agent, in the case of an impending lockout, shall serve notice upon the board of such dispute together with a statement of the issues involved. . . . not less than 10 days before the strike or lockout is to become effective, or in case of an industry affected with a public interest or a public utility or hospital, said notice shall be so served not less than 30 days before the strike or lockout is to become effective. "2. Upon receipt of such notice it shall be the duty of the board to exercise the powers herein granted to effect a settlement of such dispute by mediation between the parties. Prior to the calling of an election as provided hereinafter, it shall be the duty of each of the |