Smith Act

Smith Act
Great Seal of the United States
Other short titlesCivilian and Military Organizations License Act
Long titleAn Act to prohibit certain subversive activities; to amend certain provisions of law with respect to the admission and deportation of aliens; to require the fingerprinting and registration of aliens; and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)ARA
NicknamesAlien Registration Act, 1940
Enacted bythe 76th United States Congress
EffectiveJune 28, 1940
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 76–670
Statutes at Large54 Stat. 670, Chapter 439
Codification
Acts repealedRepealed. June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title IV, § 403(a)(39), 66 Stat. 280, eff. Dec. 24, 1952 [1]
Titles amended8 U.S.C.: Aliens and Nationality
U.S.C. sections created8 U.S.C. ch. 10 § 451
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 5138 by Howard W. Smith (D–VA) on June 29, 1939
  • Committee consideration by House Judiciary, Senate Judiciary
  • Passed the House on July 29, 1939 (Passed)
  • Passed the Senate on June 15, 1940 (Passed)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on June 17, 1940; agreed to by the House on June 22, 1940 (382-4) and by the Senate on June 22, 1940 (Agreed)
  • Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 28, 1940
United States Supreme Court cases
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The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3rd session, ch. 439, 54 Stat. 670, 18 U.S.C. § 2385 is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government by force or violence, and required all non-citizen adult residents to register with the federal government.

Approximately 215 people were indicted under the legislation, including alleged communists and socialists. Prosecutions under the Smith Act continued until a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1957[2] reversed a number of convictions under the Act as being unconstitutional. The law has been amended several times.

  1. ^ U.S. Code › Title 8 › Chapter 10 › § 451
  2. ^ DeLauder, Jesse. "The Seattle Seven: The Smith Act Trials in Seattle (1952–1958)". University of Washington. Retrieved May 21, 2022.