fester until erupting anew at the end of the decade. World War I Although Berger's views on World War I were complicated by the Socialist view and the difficulties surrounding his German heritage, he supported his party's stance against the war. When the United States entered the war and passed the Espionage Act of 1917, Berger's continued opposition made him a target. He and four other Socialists were indicted under the Espionage Act in February 1918. The trial followed on December 9 of that year, and on February 20, 1919, Berger was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. During the 1918 Wisconsin special Senate election, Berger ran for the seat under federal indictment. His newspaper, the Milwaukee Leader, had printed a number of anti-war articles which led to the postal service revoking the paper's second-class mail privileges. Despite the circumstances, Berger won 26% of the vote statewide in an April special Senate election to fill a vacancy and won 11 counties in a three-way race. The espionage trial was presided over by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who later became the first commissioner of Major League Baseball. His conviction was appealed and was ultimately overturned by the US Supreme Court on January 31, 1921, which found that Judge Landis had improperly presided over the case after the filing of an affidavit of prejudice. Although he was under indictment, the voters of Milwaukee elected Berger to the House of Representatives in 1918. When he arrived in Washington to claim his seat, Congress formed a special committee to determine whether a convicted felon and war opponent should be seated as a member of Congress. On November 10, 1919, they concluded that he should not, and they declared the seat vacant. He was disqualified pursuant to Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Wisconsin promptly held a special election to fill the vacant seat and, on December 19, 1919, elected Berger a second time. On January 10, 1920, the House again refused to seat him, and the seat remained vacant until 1921, when the Republican William H. Stafford claimed the seat after defeating Berger in the 1920 general election. Second stint in Congress Berger defeated Stafford in 1922 and was reelected in 1924 and 1926. In those terms, he dealt with Constitutional changes, a proposed old-age pension, unemployment insurance, and public housing. He also supported the diplomatic