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{{Short description|1919 law prohibiting certain leftist politics}}
The '''California Criminal Syndicalism Act''' ([[California Penal Code]] §§ 11400 et seq.) was a [[law of California]] in 1919 under Governor [[William Stephens]] criminalizing [[syndicalism]].<ref>Added by California Stats. 1919, c. 188, p. 281. Renumbered by California Stats 1953, c. 32.</ref> It was repealed in 1991.<ref>Repealed by California Stats. 1991, c. 186 (A.B. 436).</ref> One of the Act's most well-known convictions was that of [[Charlotte Anita Whitney]], which led to the Act being upheld by the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] in ''[[Whitney v. California]]'' (1927), which was itself explicitly overturned in ''[[Brandenburg v. Ohio]]'' (1969), effectively declaring the Act unconstitutional.<ref name="encyclopedia"/>▼
{{Infobox U.S. State legislation
| State = California
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| Signed = {{font color|green|Yes}}
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| Status = repealed
}}
{{California law}}
The '''California Criminal Syndicalism Act''' ([https://web.archive.org/web/20111002140955/http://192.234.213.35/clerkarchive/archive/Statutes/1919/19Vol1_Chapters.pdf Stats. 1919], c. 188, p. 281; it was [[codification (law)|codified]] at [[California Penal Code]] §§ 11400 et seq.)<ref>Added by California Stats. 1919, c. 188, p. 281. Renumbered by California Stats 1953, c. 32.</ref> was a [[law of California]] in 1919 under Governor [[William Stephens (American politician)|William Stephens]] criminalizing [[syndicalism]]. It was enacted on April 30, 1919, and repealed in 1991.<ref>Repealed by California Stats. 1991, c. 186 (A.B. 436).</ref> The law stated that "any person who was a member of any organization that advocated criminal syndicalism was guilty of a [[felony]] and punishable by up to 14 years in the [[Prisons in California|state prison]]. The law is significant, and controversial, because it made certain beliefs illegal. A person did not have to commit any overt act. Simple advocacy of a certain belief or membership in a group that advocated syndicalism was enough to secure a conviction".{{sfnp|McClellan|2011|page=91}}
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The Act must be viewed in the context of the [[First Red Scare]] and the turbulent [[labor history of the United States]] in the early [[20th Century]].{{sfn|Whitten|1969|p=4}} From 1910–1920, 20 states enacted laws criminalizing syndicalism.<ref name="encyclopedia">{{cite book | title= Encyclopedia of Censorship | first= Jonathon | last= Green | editor-first= Nicholas J | editor-last= Karolides | year= 2009 | page= 85 | publisher= [[Infobase Publishing]] | series= Facts on File Library of World History | isbn= 0-8160-4464-3 | url= http://books.google.com/books?id=bunHURgi7FcC&pg=PA85}}</ref>▼
The Act must be viewed in the context of the [[First Red Scare]] and the turbulent [[labor history of the United States]] in the early 20th century.{{sfn|Whitten|1969|p=4}} From 1910 to 1920, 20 states enacted laws [[criminal syndicalism|criminalizing syndicalism]].{{sfn|Green|2009|p=85}}
==Convictions==
One of the Act's
In April 1930, meetings of the [[Agricultural Workers' Industrial League]] (AWIL) across [[Imperial Valley]] but centered around [[El Centro, California|El Centro]] were raided by the [[Imperial County, California|Imperial County]] [[Sheriff]].{{sfn|Daniel|1981|p=121}} Of the hundreds arrested, 16 were charged by the [[Imperial County, California|Imperial County]] [[Grand Jury]] with violations of the Criminal Syndicalism Act,{{sfn|Daniel|1981|p=121}} and 8 were convicted on
According to journalist and historian [[Carey McWilliams (journalist)|Carey McWilliams]], there were 531 indictments for violation of the Criminal Syndicalism Act between 1919 and 1924, and "Of those arrested, 264 were tried, 164 convicted, and 128 were sentenced to [[San Quentin Prison]] for terms of from one to fourteen years. A large part of these prosecutions arose in Southern California."{{sfnp|McWilliams|1973|pp=290–291}}
==Notes==
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==References==
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{{refbegin}}
* {{cite
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* {{cite book | title=
* {{cite thesis |last=McClellan |first=Scott Allen |date=2011 |title=Policing the Red Scare: The Los Angeles Police Department's Red Squad and the Repression of Labor Activism in Los Angeles, 1900–1940 |work= |publisher=University of California, Irvine |location= |page= |url= |access-date= |isbn= |issn= |oclc= |id={{ProQuest|3442998}} }}
* {{cite book |last=McWilliams |first=Carey |author-link=Carey McWilliams (journalist) |title=Southern California Country: An Island on the Land |chapter=Chapter XIV. The Politics of Utopia |series=[[American Folkways Series]] |date=1973 |edition=Reprint |publisher=Peregrine Smith Books |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |isbn=0-87905-007-1 |lccn=73077787 |orig-date=1946}}
* {{cite journal | title= Criminal Syndicalism and the Law in California: 1919–1927 | first= Woodrow C. | last= Whitten | journal= [[Transactions of the American Philosophical Society]] | volume= 59 | issue= 2 | date= March 1969 | pages= 3–73 | doi= 10.2307/1006021 | jstor= 1006021 }}
{{refend}}
[[Category:California statutes|Criminal Syndicalism Act]]▼
▲[[Category:California statutes]]
[[Category:Syndicalism]]
[[Category:1919 in American law]]
[[Category:1919 in California|Criminal Syndicalism Act]]
[[Category:1991 in American law]]
[[Category:1991 in California|Criminal Syndicalism Act]]
[[Category:History of labor relations in the United States]]
[[Category:Industrial Workers of the World in California]]
[[Category:Anti-communism in the United States]]
[[Category:Anti-anarchism in the United States]]
[[Category:Political repression in the United States]]
[[Category:Censorship in the United States]]
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