--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Southerner Tom Watson, a populist…" description: "\"“Southerner Tom Watson, a populist Jeffersonian from Georgia, faced potential prosecution under the law because his newspaper often opposed Wilson’s wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/brion-t-mcclanahan-30009_american-war_southerner-tom-watson-a-populist-jeffers_169523.jpg" --- # Southerner Tom Watson, a populist Jeffersonian from… ![“Southerner Tom Watson, a populist Jeffersonian from Georgia, faced potential prosecution under the law because his newspaper often opposed Wilson’s war aims and policies. Several movie directors were arrested or fined, one because his film on the American War for Independence cast the British in a…” quote by Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/brion-t-mcclanahan-30009_american-war_southerner-tom-watson-a-populist-jeffers_169523.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/brion-t-mcclanahan-30009_american-war_southerner-tom-watson-a-populist-jeffers_169523.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/brion-t-mcclanahan-30009_american-war_southerner-tom-watson-a-populist-jeffers_169523.jpg) > ““Southerner Tom Watson, a populist Jeffersonian from Georgia, faced potential prosecution under the law because his newspaper often opposed Wilson’s war aims and policies. Several movie directors were arrested or fined, one because his film on the American War for Independence cast the British in a negative light.”” [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political dissent can lead to legal challenges, especially when media opposes government policies during wartime. **In simple terms:** Speaking against war can cause legal trouble. Key Takeaway Stand firm in truth despite risk. Themes politics free speech war dissent media freedom Mood critical defiant Type political historical When to use this quote - war reporting - editorial work - activist publishing - legal defense Key Concepts civil liberties government authority journalism Questions to Reflect On - What risks do you accept to voice opposition? - How can dissent be protected in society? A Different Perspective Opposition may be suppressed, limiting impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-war/) ## Related quotes > [Tom Watson, Tom Watson blew, what, two PGA Championships and a U.S. Open. Did it destroy his life? No, it didn't destroy his life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/tom-watson-tom-watson-blew-what-two-pga-championships-and-a-u-s-open/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [Playing with Tom Watson, I grew up a little bit. Even if he didn't say something to you, even if he didn't give you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matteo-manassero/playing-with-tom-watson-i-grew-up-a-little-bit-even-if-he-didn-t-say/) [Matteo Manassero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matteo-manassero/) > [He's in the mold of a Tom Watson, in that he'll hit the ball in the trees and undaunted go it there, flail it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-mccord/he-s-in-the-mold-of-a-tom-watson-in-that-he-ll-hit-the-ball-in-the/) [Gary McCord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-mccord/) > [Anytime Tom Watson is on your team, you've won. His passion, professionalism, attention to detail, and leadership are unparalleled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lauren/anytime-tom-watson-is-on-your-team-you-ve-won-his-passion/) [David Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lauren/) > [U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt has been described as founder of the Bull Moose Party, the man who led his troops up San Juan Hill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/u-s-president-theodore-roosevelt-has-been-described-as-founder-of-the/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [I have been a gigantic Rolling Stones fan since approximately the Spanish-American War.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/i-have-been-a-gigantic-rolling-stones-fan-since-approximately-the/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [When this war is over, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-halsey/when-this-war-is-over-the-japanese-language-will-be-spoken-only-in/) [William Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-halsey/) > [“This giant fleet of American warships – a modern armada – churns across the ocean day and night for a journey of four thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bradley/this-giant-fleet-of-american-warships-a-modern-armada-churns-across/) [James Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bradley/) > [“It is always a fashion to advise disputants to sit round a table and solve disputes by dialogue and discussion, and not to resort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-navaratnam/it-is-always-a-fashion-to-advise-disputants-to-sit-round-a-table-and/) V. Navaratnam > [In retrospect, the political and cultural climate in the early '60s seems both a time of innocence and also like a sultry, still summer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/in-retrospect-the-political-and-cultural-climate-in-the-early-60s/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [WASHINGTON - Ever since President Obama ordered American warplanes to begin bombing terrorist targets in Iraq and Syria last year, members of Congress have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-baker/washington-ever-since-president-obama-ordered-american-warplanes-to/) [Peter Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-baker/) > [“She retired early and, consequently, was in ignorance of the receipt of a telegram by Sylvanus Starr announcing the return of Andy P. Symes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lockhart/she-retired-early-and-consequently-was-in-ignorance-of-the-receipt-of/) [Caroline Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lockhart/) > [“She liked a very particular kind of plot: the sort where the pirate kidnaps some virgin damsel, rapes her into loving him, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-peeler/she-liked-a-very-particular-kind-of-plot-the-sort-where-the-pirate/) [Nicole Peeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-peeler/) > [“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-undemocratic-than-the-view/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/but-what-do-we-mean-by-the-american-revolution-do-we-mean-the/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) ## More by Brion T. McClanahan > [“The Supreme Court upheld the law in the 2012 decision of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, but not because it believed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/the-supreme-court-upheld-the-law-in-the-2012-decision-of-national/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“Violating the presidential oath, in whatever fashion, constitutes a “high crime and misdemeanor”—according to the founding generation’s definition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/violating-the-presidential-oath-in-whatever-fashion-constitutes-a/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“Madison suggested that the president should have “power to carry into effect the national laws, to appoint to offices in cases not otherwise provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/madison-suggested-that-the-president-should-have-power-to-carry-into/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“If Cleveland had only used the bully pulpit to harangue congressional leaders and rammed his “agenda” through the halls of Congress, he might have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/if-cleveland-had-only-used-the-bully-pulpit-to-harangue-congressional/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“Roosevelt had usurped constitutional power from Congress and bullied the American people into giving up their hard assets for pieces of paper. King Midas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/roosevelt-had-usurped-constitutional-power-from-congress-and-bullied/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“Wilson also made regulating information and speech a top priority. Less than two weeks after his request for a declaration of war, Wilson nationalized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/wilson-also-made-regulating-information-and-speech-a-top-priority/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“His first term is a model in executive restraint; it turned around an American political system that had deviated widely from the promises that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/his-first-term-is-a-model-in-executive-restraint-it-turned-around-an/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“According to the Constitution as ratified, the legislature was to be the most powerful and important branch of government. Jefferson echoed this theme in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/according-to-the-constitution-as-ratified-the-legislature-was-to-be/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“But George Mason still had concerns; he reasoned that though Congress would have had to call up the militia and the army, the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/but-george-mason-still-had-concerns-he-reasoned-that-though-congress/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“By 1937, Roosevelt realized that the New Deal was on life support. Many of the programs did not work as intended, and the economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/by-1937-roosevelt-realized-that-the-new-deal-was-on-life-support-many/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“Alexander Hamilton’s proposal for a First Bank of the United States met resistance from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison because the power to charter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/alexander-hamilton-s-proposal-for-a-first-bank-of-the-united-states/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“Thus the Truman Doctrine—the president’s commitment of the United States to oppose Soviet expansionism, starting with Turkey and Greece—was born. The die had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/thus-the-truman-doctrine-the-president-s-commitment-of-the-united/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“Wilson’s defining achievement as president was his legislative agenda, the “New Freedom.” He had written in 1908 that the president was “the political leader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/wilson-s-defining-achievement-as-president-was-his-legislative-agenda/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“The Confederate States of America in 1861 was legally an independent government. The Southern states seceded by popular conventions of the people of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/the-confederate-states-of-america-in-1861-was-legally-an-independent/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [“Roosevelt did an about-face and adopted Hoover’s blueprint for government involvement in the economy—then juiced it on steroids.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/roosevelt-did-an-about-face-and-adopted-hoover-s-blueprint-for/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) [Explore all 17 Brion T. McClanahan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) ## More American war quotes > [But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/but-what-do-we-mean-by-the-american-revolution-do-we-mean-the/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-undemocratic-than-the-view/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“She liked a very particular kind of plot: the sort where the pirate kidnaps some virgin damsel, rapes her into loving him, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-peeler/she-liked-a-very-particular-kind-of-plot-the-sort-where-the-pirate/) [Nicole Peeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-peeler/) > [“She retired early and, consequently, was in ignorance of the receipt of a telegram by Sylvanus Starr announcing the return of Andy P. Symes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lockhart/she-retired-early-and-consequently-was-in-ignorance-of-the-receipt-of/) [Caroline Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lockhart/) > [WASHINGTON - Ever since President Obama ordered American warplanes to begin bombing terrorist targets in Iraq and Syria last year, members of Congress have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-baker/washington-ever-since-president-obama-ordered-american-warplanes-to/) [Peter Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-baker/) > [In retrospect, the political and cultural climate in the early '60s seems both a time of innocence and also like a sultry, still summer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/in-retrospect-the-political-and-cultural-climate-in-the-early-60s/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [“It is always a fashion to advise disputants to sit round a table and solve disputes by dialogue and discussion, and not to resort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-navaratnam/it-is-always-a-fashion-to-advise-disputants-to-sit-round-a-table-and/) V. Navaratnam > [“This giant fleet of American warships – a modern armada – churns across the ocean day and night for a journey of four thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bradley/this-giant-fleet-of-american-warships-a-modern-armada-churns-across/) [James Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bradley/) > [When this war is over, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-halsey/when-this-war-is-over-the-japanese-language-will-be-spoken-only-in/) [William Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-halsey/) > [I have been a gigantic Rolling Stones fan since approximately the Spanish-American War.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/i-have-been-a-gigantic-rolling-stones-fan-since-approximately-the/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt has been described as founder of the Bull Moose Party, the man who led his troops up San Juan Hill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/u-s-president-theodore-roosevelt-has-been-described-as-founder-of-the/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [All of a sudden, making a Spanish-American War joke. I think you sort of had to go to probably to an American high school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mandel/all-of-a-sudden-making-a-spanish-american-war-joke-i-think-you-sort/) [David Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mandel/) > [“Thus, in that inevitable taking of sides which comes from selection and emphasis in history, I prefer to try to tell the story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/thus-in-that-inevitable-taking-of-sides-which-comes-from-selection/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [As always, there was an all-American war hero look to him, coded in his tousled brown hair, his summer-narrowed hazel eyes, the straight nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/as-always-there-was-an-all-american-war-hero-look-to-him-coded-in-his/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Younger people who are being indoctrinated into the contemporary system of falsification - they really have to do some research to find out what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/younger-people-who-are-being-indoctrinated-into-the-contemporary/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Browse all 83 American war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Southerner Tom Watson, a populist Jeffersonian from Georgia, faced potential prosecution under the law because his newspaper often opposed Wilson’s war aims and policies. 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