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Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
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Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
America’s first Socialist Congressman, Victor Berger (1860-1929) was convicted under the Espionage Act. While indicted, Berger was twice elected to Congress and twice denied his seat. Eventually, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction and he returned for three more terms, proposing radical reforms such as the elimination of the Senate and the creation of unemployment insurance. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
| November 8, 1910 | Victor Berger wins Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District, becoming America’s first Socialist congressman. |
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| April 27, 1911 | Berger introduces a constitutional amendment in the House of Representatives to abolish the Senate. |
| July 31, 1911 | Berger introduces a bill to provide a pension of $4 a week to all men and women over 60 years old. |
| November 5, 1912 | Berger is defeated in his reelection bid by William Stafford. |
| March 10, 1918 | Berger is indicted under the Espionage Act and charged with twenty-six “disloyal acts.” |
| November 10, 1919 | The House of Representatives denies Berger his seat by a vote of 309-1. |
| November 11, 1919 | The first annual convention of the American Legion unanimously passes a resolution calling for the deportation of Berger and the revocation of his citizenship. |
| January 10, 1920 | Berger is again denied a seat by Congress after winning the special election that followed Congress’ repudiation of his right to sit in Congress after he won in the 1918 election cycle. |
| January 31, 1921 | Berger’s conviction under the Espionage Act is overturned by the Supreme Court. |
| November 8, 1922 | Berger is elected to the 68th Congress and would later serve on both the 69th and 70th Congresses as well. |
