September 14, 1918 - Labor leader and ardent Socialist Eugene V. Debs was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for speaking out against World War I. It was at his sentencing that Debs uttered the famous speech that included these lines: “ . . . while there is a lower class I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free . . .” Two years later, Debs became the first person to run for U.S. president while behind bars. He received nearly 1 million votes.

September 14, 1959 - Congress passed the Landrum-Griffin Act, restricting union activity.