Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Smith Act
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Quick Facts
Formally:
Alien Registration Act of 1940
Date:
1940
Participants:
United States
Key People:
Learned Hand
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Smith Act

United States [1940]
Also known as: Alien Registration Act
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Smith Act, U.S. federal law passed in 1940 that made it a criminal offense to advocate the violent overthrow of the government or to organize or be a member of any group or society devoted to such advocacy. The first prosecutions under the Smith Act, of leaders of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), took place in 1941. After World War II the statute was used against the leadership of the American Communist Party (Communist Party of the United States of America; CPUSA). The convictions of the principal officers of the CPUSA (1949) were sustained—and the constitutionality of the advocacy provision of the Smith Act upheld—by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dennis v. United States (1951). In a later case, Yates v. United States (1957), the court offset that ruling somewhat by adopting a strict reading of the advocacy provision, construing “advocacy” to mean only urging that includes incitement to unlawful action.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Brian Duignan.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.