Alien and Sedition Act

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Ryan Labbe

Communications 261

Prof. Olmstead

November 18, 2004

Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act (Amendment) of 1918

On April 2nd 1917, President Woodrow Wilson of the United States of America, "Ð'...went before Congress and called for a declaration of war. Both the House and the Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of going to war with Germany."# This was an act that led to much resistance among the American people. Not four months earlier the American people re-elected President Wilson, partly because of his success in keeping the United States out of this European war. However, a series of events, such as the Germans continuing submarine warfare and the attacks on five American ships, led President Wilson to sever diplomatic relations with Germany and send the United States into what would be labeled as World War I. As a result of the war the

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government enacted the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 which led to the suppression of anti-war documents and sentiments, as well as the prosecution of over two-thousand individuals.#

Despite earlier resistance to the war by the American people, once war was declared patriotism swept over the nation. However, patriotism rose to it's peak and quickly turned to an intolerance for any kind of dissidence of the war.

With a general intolerance for opponents of the war the government began to repress groups advocating against the war, as did private organizations. One such organization created to suppress anti-war ideals was the Committee on Public Information (CPI). CPI was put in place to provide trustworthy information to the public, as well as stifle any misleading wartime rumors. However, the CPI ended up creating propaganda for the government to distort the views of the American people and worked to destroy and discredit

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all those who opposed the government's ideology.

"The effect of such incessant propaganda was to promote hysterical hatred of all things German."# Any individual who had the audacity to speak against the war was assaulted either verbal or physically, and on many occasions murdered.

With the ideals of the government on the war growing in the nation, Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917. After a joint session of Congress, where President Wilson reported on relations with Germany, the first of three bills that would create the Espionage Act of 1917, was introduced. The Congressional Digest reported that, "this action prompted intensive debate which extended over two sessions and involved three bills and two separate conference reports."# The Espionage Act of 1917, "Ð'...prescribed a $10,000 fine and 20 years imprisonment for interfering with the recruiting of troops or the disclosure of information dealing with

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national defense."# This Act of Congress in 1917, created vague boundaries as to how the American people could react against the war.

Subsequently, in 1918, after approximately two thousand people were prosecuted#, according to Mickey Z., under the Espionage Act of 1917, the Wilson Administration

passed the Sedition Act of 1918, also known as the Sedition Amendment to the Espionage Act. The Sedition Act of 1918 increased the governments power to suppress the American

people in their effort to criticize the war. Under this new amendment Congress expanded their power to not only punish those interfering with national defense and recruiting troops, but also included those individuals, who according to U.S. History.com, "Ð'...publicly criticized the government- including negative comments about the flag, military or Constitution."#

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These two Acts of Congress were in direct contradiction to the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which states:

"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 of the right of the people peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."#

Individuals were arrested and convicted of violating this law in wartime during 1917 and 1921. These two acts not only violated the First Amendment, they also granted the government almost total censorship on the American people. For example, within the Espionage Act there was a provision that allowed the Postmaster General to bar a wide variety of materials from being sent through the mail.

From 1917 to the repeal of the Espionage and Sedition Acts in 1921 over 900 went to prison.# Among these 900

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individuals was Eugene V. Debs and Schenck. These were two individuals convicted of violating the Espionage and Sedition Acts in a time of war.

Eugene Debs was a well educated man who attended night college as a man later in life and excelled as a political

mind of his time, however in the eyes of the government he was clearly guilty of being a socialist. On June 16, 1918, Debs made what came to be a famous anti-war speech in Canton, Ohio. In his speech Debs spoke out about the war and it's economics, as well as the realities of the Espionage and Sedition Acts. Debs discussed the convictions of individuals under these acts and labeled the government as acting unconstitutional.

Upon concluding his speech Debs was arrested and later brought to trial on charges under the same acts he spoke out

against. Debs served as his own attorney and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and loss of his citizenship. While in prison he gained massive support from the Socialist Party, and "for the fifth and last time, while a prisonerÐ'...

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he was nominated to run for president on the Socialist partyÐ'...