The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Claim

Claim 117

The Supreme Court's majority held that the Constitution was adopted to preserve the government, not to protect those who used its privileges to try to destroy it, in upholding Burleson's revocation of the paper's mailing rate.

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 1 source.

Statement
The Supreme Court's majority held that the Constitution was adopted to preserve the government, not to protect those who used its privileges to try to destroy it, in upholding Burleson's revocation of the paper's mailing rate.
Field
stated_justification
Value
Majority upheld Burleson
About
incident 1917-us-burleson-mail-ban-milwaukee-leader
Source
United States ex rel. Milwaukee Social Democratic Publishing Co. v. Burleson archived copy
Publisher
The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University
Method
court record
Checked
2026-09-22
Confidence
medium
Status
current

Quotation from the source

The Constitution was adopted to preserve our Government, not to serve as a protecting screen for those who while claiming its privileges seek to destroy it.