American History Geeks rejoice! Cartoonist Brian Carroll has been on hiatus from his political comic strip Two Party Opera, in which former Presidents trade barbs about the Events Of The Day, for a while now, but every now and then he updates it. Today he has a discussion about the Espionage Act between John (“What Do You Mean, He’s Dead?) Tyler and Woodrow (He Kept Us Out of War— Until He Didn’t) Wilson. I don’t know why Carroll chose Tyler to be the straight man this time, but Wilson was the man who signed the Espionage Act of 1917, and certainly would have some opinions on the subject.
Today’s strip also mentions Eugene V. Debs, the political activist and union leader who was imprisoned under the Espionage Act for the crime of opposing the War — you know, the one Wilson wanted to keep us out of. Debs ran for president in 1920 while in prison, as the Socialist Party candidate, and managed to win 3.2% of the popular vote, which is the most (I think) that the Socialist Party has ever gotten in a presidential election.
See, Donald? You can still run for president, even from jail. It’s just a bit harder to make all the campaign rallies.
Two Party Opera 8/18/2022