http://www.ck12.org Chapter 8. World War I
8.2 The Espionage and Sedition Acts
During World War One, the U.S. Congress passed several laws, the Espionage and Sedition Acts, that criminalized
certain acts deemed threatening to the war effort. Some people thought these laws unconstitutionally restricted free
speech, while others thought they were necessary. The documents below include Wikipedia articles on the Espionage
and Sedition Acts and an excerpt from a famous court case in which the Acts were challenged. The document set
concludes with a speech by the socialist leader Eugene V. Debs. After giving the speech, Debs was prosecuted under
the Espionage and Sedition Acts. After reading all of the documents, decide whether you think Debs was guilty.
Wikipedia on the Espionage Act
Source: Excerpt from the Wikipedia articles on the Espionage Act.
The Espionage Act of 1917 was a United States federal law passed shortly after entering World War I, on June 15,
1917, which made it a crime for a person:
Thus, while “espionage” is usually defined as a clandestine activity of getting secret information and passing it
on to the enemy, the law vastly extended the meaning of the term to include also the openly carried expressing of
political opinions, without revealing any secret, and by persons who had no connection with the enemy - as long as
the expressing of such opinions was construed as helping the enemy.
The legislation was passed at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson, who feared any widespread dissent in time
of war, thinking that it constituted a real threat to an American victory.
- To convey information with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the armed forces of the United
States or to promote the success of its enemies. This was punishable by death or by imprisonment for not
more than 30 years. - To convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military
or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies and whoever when the United
States is at war, to cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, refusal of duty, in the military
or naval forces of the United States, or to willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United
States. This was punishable by a maximum $USD 10,000 fine (almost $170,000 in today’s dollars) and
20 years in prison.
Source: Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on the Sedition Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedition_Act_of_1918
The Sedition Act of 1918 (May 16, 1918) was an amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917 passed at the urging of
President Woodrow Wilson, who was concerned that dissent, in time of war, was a significant threat to morale. The
passing of this act forbade Americans to use “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” about the United
States government, flag, or armed forces during war. The act also allowed the Postmaster General to deny mail
delivery to dissenters of government policy during wartime.
Questions:
1.Sourcing:Where did these documents come from? What do you know about this source?
2.Sourcing:How reliable do you consider these documents?- How could you corroborate the information from these documents?