Rosenbergs: Breaking What Law?

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage under the Espionage Act of 1917, which provides that anyone convicted of transmitting or attempting to transmit to a foreign government information relating to the national defense may be imprisoned for life or put to death. They were the first American civilians to be executed for such charges and the first to be executed during peacetime.

The Rosenbergs were accused of passing secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union in 1945. They were both sentenced to death in 1951 and executed in 1953.

The case was controversial and attracted protests worldwide, with many believing the Rosenbergs were victims of Cold War hysteria. In the years following their deaths, there was significant debate about their guilt, with some believing they were victims of vindictive FBI officials. However, the release of Soviet documents after the fall of communism confirmed their guilt.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage in 1951

The Rosenbergs were accused of passing top-secret information about American radar, sonar, jet propulsion engines, and nuclear weapon designs to the Soviet Union. The trial began on March 6, 1951, and the couple was convicted on March 29, 1951. They were sentenced to death on April 5, 1951, under Section 2 of the Espionage Act of 1917. This Act provides that anyone convicted of transmitting or attempting to transmit to a foreign government "information relating to the national defense" may be imprisoned for life or put to death.

The Rosenbergs' case was controversial and divided public opinion. Some believed that they were victims of Cold War hysteria and that their execution was a miscarriage of justice. Others argued that they were guilty of espionage and that their conviction was legally sound. The historical consensus today is that Julius Rosenberg was indeed a spy for the Soviet Union, while Ethel Rosenberg's role was less clear. She may have been legally complicit in her husband's activities, but there is no evidence that she was a spy herself.

In the years following their execution, new information came to light that shed more light on the case. Soviet documents confirmed Julius Rosenberg's involvement in espionage, and grand jury testimony indicated that Ethel's brother, David Greenglass, may have lied at the trial by exaggerating Ethel's role to protect his own wife, Ruth, who was also involved in the spy ring. Additionally, there were allegations of prosecutorial misconduct during the sentencing phase of the trial, including improper ex parte discussions with the judge.

The Rosenberg case remains a subject of debate and has been portrayed in various forms of media, including books, films, and poetry.

They were executed by the US federal government in 1953

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by the US federal government in 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage. They were the first American civilians to be executed for espionage and the first to be executed during peacetime. They were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union, including providing top-secret information about American radar, sonar, jet propulsion engines, and nuclear weapon designs. They were executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York.

The Rosenbergs were convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917, which provides that anyone convicted of transmitting or attempting to transmit to a foreign government "information relating to the national defense" may be imprisoned for life or put to death. The Act allowed for the death penalty for espionage in wartime, and the Rosenbergs were charged with conspiring to violate the Act by communicating secret atomic and other military information to the Soviet Union during World War II.

The case against the Rosenbergs relied heavily on the testimony of two individuals, Harry Gold and Ethel's brother, David Greenglass. Greenglass later admitted to perjuring himself about Ethel's involvement, likely to protect his wife, who was also involved in the spy ring. The government also had evidence from decoded Soviet cables (code-name Venona) that detailed Julius's role as a courier and recruiter for the Soviets. However, this evidence was not made public until the 1990s, and the trial and execution of the Rosenbergs occurred during a time of high anti-communist sentiment in the US.

The Rosenbergs' trial and execution remain controversial, with some arguing that they were victims of Cold War hysteria and others maintaining that they were guilty of espionage. The debate has been fuelled by the release of previously classified information and new accounts from individuals involved in the case. While the consensus is that Julius was a dedicated Soviet spy, the extent of Ethel's involvement is less clear, and some believe she may have been wrongfully executed.

They were the first American civilians to be executed for espionage

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and executed in 1953. They were the first American civilians to be executed for espionage and the first to suffer that penalty during peacetime.

The Rosenbergs were accused of passing secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union in 1945. They were tried under the Espionage Act of 1917, which provides that anyone convicted of transmitting or attempting to transmit to a foreign government "information relating to the national defense" may be imprisoned for life or put to death. The couple was sentenced to death on April 5, 1951, and executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York, on June 19, 1953.

The case against the Rosenbergs relied heavily on the testimony of two individuals, Harry Gold and Ethel's brother, David Greenglass. Greenglass later admitted that he had perjured himself by exaggerating Ethel's role in the espionage ring in order to protect his wife, Ruth, who was also involved. The government did not disclose all of its evidence to the defense, as some of it was classified. This included the decoded Soviet cables known as Venona, which detailed Julius's role as a courier and recruiter for the Soviets. These transcripts were not released until the 1990s, long after the Rosenbergs' execution.

The historical consensus is that Julius Rosenberg was indeed a spy for the Soviet Union, but the evidence against Ethel Rosenberg was weaker. In the years following their execution, there was significant debate about their guilt, with many regarding them as victims of Cold War hysteria and cynical and vindictive officials of the FBI. However, the release of Soviet intelligence information in the 1990s confirmed Julius Rosenberg's involvement in espionage, and grand jury testimony by Greenglass indicated that he may have lied at the trial to exaggerate Ethel's role.

They were the first to be executed during peacetime

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the first American civilians to be executed for conspiracy to commit espionage and the first to be executed during peacetime. They were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union, including providing top-secret information about American radar, sonar, jet propulsion engines, and nuclear weapon designs.

The Rosenbergs were executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York, on June 19, 1953. They were sentenced to death on April 5, 1951, for passing on atomic secrets to Russia during World War II.

The couple was the first civilians in American history to be executed for espionage. Julius Rosenberg, aged 35, was the first to die. The execution was carried out just before sunset on the Sabbath, with prison officials advancing the timing to respect the Rosenbergs' Jewish heritage.

The Rosenbergs' execution was preceded by a series of appeals and pleas for clemency, including a last-minute plea written by Ethel Rosenberg, which was rejected by President Eisenhower. The execution sparked protests and debates about the couple's guilt, with some regarding them as victims of cynical and vindictive officials.

The controversy surrounding the Rosenbergs' case continued for decades, with their sons campaigning for their mother's exoneration, arguing that she was convicted on flimsy evidence.

The Rosenbergs were members of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA)

The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) was formed in 1919 by left-wing members of the Socialist Party of America. The CPUSA was a Marxist-Leninist political organisation that was aligned with the Soviet Union. The Party's platform focused on working-class issues such as fair wages and unemployment, civil rights for racial and ethnic minorities, civil liberties for politically persecuted communities, economic justice for the poor, the unemployed and immigrants, and international peace efforts.

The Party's work left an indelible mark in the arena of progressive politics and made it an influential force in the labour movement, particularly from the 1920s to the 1940s. Its varied political, social, and cultural initiatives attracted the support of a number of prominent artists, intellectuals, and activists, including Woody Guthrie, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Angela Davis.

The CPUSA's highest governing body is its National Convention, which meets every few years to decide basic policy questions. The day-to-day leadership of the party is directed by about a dozen members of the Political Bureau or Political Committee and members from various national commissions.

The CPUSA played a pivotal role in many significant political and social movements of the 20th century. The Party established its newspaper, the Daily Worker, in 1924 as a means to communicate with membership and a larger left-wing audience about the Party's policies and positions on a wide range of current events, with an emphasis on labour issues and social justice.

The Party's work during the Great Depression included efforts to organise labour and rally as advocates for the unemployed. The CPUSA was also instrumental in the defence of political prisoners, including the Scottsboro Boys, nine young Black men accused of rape.

During the Second World War, the CPUSA reached its peak membership of about 80,000. In its eagerness to be seen as part of the patriotic war effort, the Party had even tacitly endorsed the incarceration of Japanese Americans.

The CPUSA's strength and size declined sharply following the Second World War and the advent of the Cold War and McCarthyism. The Party sent most of its leadership underground, further weakening the organisation.

The worst of the anti-communist fervor began to recede after the 1954 censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy and some favourable Supreme Court rulings. However, in 1956 the Communist Party was devastated by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's "Secret Speech", which acknowledged that crimes had been committed under the regime of Joseph Stalin.

The CPUSA experienced some growth during the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, despite its sometimes ambivalent relationship to the culture and politics of the New Left. The CPUSA's daily newspaper, the Daily Worker, was revived as the Daily World in 1967; it reported on the rebirth of the civil rights movement, and later, the anti-Vietnam movement and the growing Black nationalist movement.

During the 1980s, the Party continued to promote international peace efforts; working through the U.S. Peace Council, the CPUSA focused on nuclear disarmament and opposed Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, or "Star Wars", program.

The CPUSA remains committed to socialism, peace, economic and social justice, and civil rights and liberties.

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