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To what extent is it acceptable to limit a citizens civil liberties during wartime?
While the US was at war with the Triple Alliance many citizens opposed the war. The
government felt that opposition to government policies in time of war threatened our national
security. Restrictive laws such as the Espionage and Sedition Acts were passed in order to
silence opposition. Many outspoken people were jailed. It was a time of great national crisis and
the Constitution was thoroughly tested.
During World War I, the United States government attempted to silence opposition to the war
and thus restrict the rights of citizens. The government claimed these restrictions were necessary
in order to protect the good of our society. Where they right? That question was for the United
States Supreme Court to answer.
I. Restrictions on Civil Liberties During World War I
A. What were the Espionage and Sedition Acts? (1917)
1. Persons who commit the following acts may be fined up to $10,000 and/or
jailed for up to 20 years:
a. willfully cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny or refusal of duty in
the military forces . (Espionage Act)
b. prohibited disloyal, profane, scurrilous or abusive remarks about the
form of government, flag or uniform of the United States. It even
prohibited the opposition to the purchase of war bonds. (Sedition Act)
B. What was the result of the Espionage Acts during World War I?
1. Over 6,000 arrests.
2. Led to the Red Scare.
3. Walter Mathey, arrested and convicted, attended antiwar conference and
contributed 25 cents.
4. Rev. Clarence Waldron, arrested and convicted for telling a bible study class
the "Christians could take no part in the war." 15 year term.
5. Eugene V. Debs, arrested and convicted for opposing the war, 10 years. Gained
over a million votes in a run for President while he was in prison.
6. Ricardo Flores Magon, a leading Mexican-American Labor organizer was
sentenced to 20 years for opposing the administrations Mexcio policy.
7. Herbert S. Bigelow, a pacifist minister, was dragged from the stage where he
about to give a speech, taken to a wooded area by a mob, bound and gagged and
whipped.
8. Charles Schenck, member of the Socialist Party, sentenced to 15 years for
publishing pamphlets urging citizens to refuse to participate in the draft. He called
the draft slavery, among other things.
C. How were the Espionage and Sedition Acts challenged? (Schenck v The United States)
1. Charles Schenck was arrested for violating the Espionage Act, passed by Congress in
1914. The Espionage Act made it illegal to defame the government or do anything that
might retard the war effort. Schenck, a member of the Socialist Party, opposed the war
and printed and distributed pamphlets urging citizens to oppose the draft which he
likened to slavery. Schenck claimed his first amendment rights were violated.
2. The court ruled against Schenck saying that the Espionage Act did not violate the first
amendment and that in times of war the government may place reasonable limitations on
freedom of speech. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes outlined the courts opinion by
explaining that when a "clear and present danger" existed such as shouting fire in a
crowded theater, freedom of speech may be limited.
More War opposition sources
http://www.trackedinamerica.org/timeline/ww1/intro/ (if the hyperlink is broken)
Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917-1918
http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/482-espionage-and-sedition-acts-of-1917-1918.html
The Law: Federal legislation that made it illegal to speak out against the government during
World War I
Dates: Espionage Act enacted on June 15, 1917; Sedition Act enacted on May 16, 1918
Significance: Enacted soon after the United States entered World War I in 1917, the Espionage
Act prohibited individuals from expressing or publishing opinions that would interfere with the
U.S. military’s efforts to defeat Germany and its allies. A year later, the U.S. Congress amended
the law with the Sedition Act of 1918, which made it illegal to write or speak anything critical of
American involvement in the war.
While the Espionage Act dealt with many uncontroversial issues such as punishing acts of spying
and sabotage and protecting shipping, the act, as amended by the Sedition Act, was extremely
controversial for many immigrants who were opposed to war, the military draft, and violations of
their free speech rights. Specifically, the Espionage Act made it a crime willfully to interfere
with U.S. war efforts by conveying false information about the war, obstructing U.S. recruitment
or enlistment efforts, or inciting insubordination, disloyalty, or mutiny.
The Sedition Act made the language of the Espionage Act more specific by making it illegal to
use disloyal, profane, or abusive language to criticize the U.S. Constitution, the government, the
military, the flag, or the uniform. The government had the authority to punish a wide range of
speech and activities such as obstructing the sale of U.S. bonds, displaying a German flag, or
giving a speech that supported the enemy’s cause. Persons convicted of violating these laws
could be fined amounts of up to ten thousand dollars and also be sentenced to prison for as long
as twenty years.
Under the Espionage and Sedition Acts, the U.S. postmaster general had the authority to ban the
mailing of all letters, circulars, newspapers, pamphlets, packages, and other materials that
opposed the war. As a result, about seventy-five newspapers either lost their mailing privileges
or were pressured to print nothing more about the war. These publications included German
American or German- language newspapers, pacifist publications, and publications owned by the
American Socialist Party and the Industrial Workers of the World.
No one was convicted of spying or sabotage under the Espionage Act during World War I.
However, more than two thousand people were arrested for sedition. One thousand of them—
including many immigrants—were convicted. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the
constitutionality of the Espionage and Sedition Acts, ruling that the government had the authority
to punish speech that would create a “clear and present danger.”
The Espionage Act was intended to be in effect only during wartime, but the law continued to be
invoked following the end of World War I during the Red Scare of 1919-1920 and again after
World War II during the Cold War. The Sedition Act was repealed in 1921, but major portions of
the Espionage Act remained in effect as part of U.S. law.
Eddith A. Dashiell
Anti-German Sentiments (if the hyperlink is broken
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3478)