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Civil Liberties

In: Historical Events

Submitted By Bigmikey01
Words 290
Pages 2
Michael Quevedo
Period 2
History
12-03-15

Civil liberties were restricted in World War I through laws passed by Congress. The two most important of these were the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. What these laws did was essentially ban criticism of a variety of government activities. The laws were aimed at suppressing any dissent against the war. In order to do this, these laws did such things as prohibiting any speech that was disloyal or that would cause people to view the government with contempt. These were very broad restrictions on civil liberties, particularly given the fact that people violating them could be punished by imprisonment.
The Espionage Act of 1917 essentially made it a crime for any person to convey information intended to interfere with the U.S. armed forces prosecution of the war effort or to promote the success of the country’s enemies. Anyone found guilty of such acts would be subject to a fine of $10,000 and a prison sentence of 20 years.
The Sedition Act made 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.
As mentioned above the Sedition Act of 1798 and the Espionage Act of 1917 sought to curtail civil rights as protected by the constitution. This was done to ensure that no individual or group would interfere with the enlistment program and the American war

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