December 1933

US and World Events plus Additional Resources

   
 
 
 
 

A Presidential Proclamation pardoning persons convicted of certain war-time offenses during World War I was issued December 23, 1933.

The proclamation restored civil rights to those who had been convicted under the Espionage Act and the Selective Serivce Act because of their public opposition to U.S. involvement in World War I. In issuing the proclamation, FDR said of those pardoned, “They have paid the penalty that the law imposed on them. The emergency that made it necessary to punish them has long expired. Fifteen years have elapsed since the end of the War.”