Fergie's Tech Blog

16 May 1918: The Sedition Act is Passed by Congress

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

-- U.S. Constitution, First Amendment

The Sedition Act of 1918 was an amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917 passed at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson(D), who was justifiably concerned any widespread dissent in time of war constituted a real threat to an American victory. Germany subversive activity had assisted in overthrowing the Russian Czar in 1917, and contributed to the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916. Germany subversive activity in Britain was less successful.

The Sedition 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.

The Sedition Act was an attempt by the United States government to limit “freedom of speech,” in-so-much-as that “freedom of speech” related to the criticism of the government during war.

The Espionage Act made it a crime to help wartime enemies of the United States, but the Sedition Act made it a crime to utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the United States' form of government.

Socialist Eugene V. Debs was sentenced to 10 years in prison under this law. U.S. radicals who were "Wobbly" members of the IWW were also imprisoned during World War I for their anti-war dissent under the provisions of the Sedition Act. In his 1941 book Censorship 1917, James Mock noted that most U.S. Establishment newspapers "showed no antipathy toward the act" and "far from opposing the measure, the leading papers seemed actually to lead the movement in behalf of its speedy enactment."

The Sedition Act was repealed in 1921. Although the Sedition Act was upheld by the US Supreme Court in Schenck v. United States, some legal experts view the Sedition Act as being antithetical to the letter and spirit of the United States Constitution, specifically the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights.

posted by Fergie @ 5/15/2006 10:01:00 PM