Benjamin Gitlow was an American socialist and political activist born in 1891. He is best known for his involvement in the American Socialist Party and for being a key figure in the early 20th-century labor movement. Gitlow's political activities often focused on workers' rights and social justice, which led to his arrest and imprisonment for advocating revolutionary ideas. In 1920, Gitlow published a pamphlet titled "The Revolutionary Age," which called for the overthrow of the U.S. government. This led to his conviction under the Espionage Act and later the Gitlow v. New York case, which became significant in discussions about free speech and the limits of government power in the United States.