Theodore Schroeder
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Albert Theodore Schroeder (September 17, 1864 – February 10, 1953) was an American author who wrote on issues pertaining to freedom of expression. Schroeder challenged the state of freedom of speech in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
by claiming that the
US government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...
may be a tyranny and that Americans view their liberties in a way that makes them hypocrites. Schroeder was a freelance
psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...
who studied the sexual basis of all religious experience. His interest in free speech, as well as his
psychosexual In psychoanalysis, psychosexual development is a central element of the sexual drive theory. According to Freud, personality develops through a series of childhood stages in which pleasure-seeking energies from the child become focused on certai ...
theories, led him to study the controversial life of the 19th-century
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...
and
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
advocate
Ida C. Craddock Ida C. Craddock (August 1, 1857 – October 16, 1902) was a 19th-century American advocate of free speech and women's rights. She wrote extensively on sexuality, which led to her conviction and imprisonment for obscenity. Facing further legal pro ...
.


Career

Schroeder entered the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
in 1882 to study engineering and earned a law degree in 1889. Schroeder practiced law for ten years in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, Utah, working for statehood for Utah. In 1900, Schroeder moved to New York. In 1902, he formed the
Free Speech League The Free Speech League was a progressive organization in the United States that fought to support freedom of speech in the early 20th century. The League focused on combating government censorship, particularly relating to political speech and se ...
, a precursor to the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...
, with
Lincoln Steffens Joseph Lincoln Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in '' McClure's'', called " ...
and others. Schroeder helped defend his anarchist friend
Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...
at her
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
trial. In 1904, Schroeder retired from practicing law and began writing. In his later years, he lived in
Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...
. At the time of Schroeder's death, his friend Lesley Kuhn was preparing for publication another book consisting of reprints of articles written by Schroeder, which were mainly
anti-Mormon Anti-Mormonism refers to individuals, literature and media that are opposed to the beliefs, adherents, or institutions of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement as a whole. It may include hostility, prejudice, discrimination, persecution, ...
in nature. The headings of the articles were "Incest in Mormonism," "Polygamy in Congress," "Polygamy and the Constitution," "Polygamy and Inspired Lies," "The Sex-Determinant in Mormon Theology," "Mormonism and Prostitution," "Proxies in Mormon Polygamy," "Was Joseph Smith, 'The Prophet,' an Abortionist?," "Sadism in Mormonism," and "Sanctified Lust." His writings became the subject of a lawsuit after his death. In his will, Schroeder left his estate to two friends with the instruction for the money from the estate to be used to gather his voluminous writings and publish them. Two of Schroeder's cousins contested the will and successfully voided it. When upholding a lower court's decision, Judge O'Sullivan of the
Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit i ...
stated in a unanimous three-judge opinion:
The law will not declare a
trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...
valid when the object of the trust, as the finding discloses, is to distribute articles which reek of the sewer. The very enumeration of some of the titles which Schroeder selected for his writings brands them indelibly, and a reading of the article which he called "Prenatal Psychisms and Mystical Pantheism" is a truly nauseating experience in the field of pornography. The trust is invalid as being contrary to
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...
.


Works

*Obscene Literature and Constitutional Law, 1911. *Erotogenesis of Religion *Divinity in Semen *Why Priests Don't Marry *Shaker Celibacy and Salacity *Phallic Worship to Secularized Sex *Al. Smith, The Pope and The Presidency, 1928 *What About You? 1951 ''(Was a compilation which consisted, in part, of articles criticizing religious beliefs and questioning the existence of God. The titles of certain of its chapters were "The Love-Hate Complex," "Three Attitudes toward Sex," "Why Is Obscenity?" "Where Is Obscenity?" "'Obscenity' and Mental Health," "My Bigotry," and "My Envy.")''


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schroeder, Theodore 1864 births 1953 deaths University of Wisconsin Law School alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni Utah lawyers Critics of Mormonism American free speech activists Lawyers from Greenwich, Connecticut People from Horicon, Wisconsin