The government prosecuted over 2,100 people under these acts. The piece of legislation gave postal officials the authority to ban newspapers and magazines from the mails and threatened individuals convicted of obstructing the draft with $10,000 fines and 20 years in jail.Ĭongress passed the Sedition Act of 1918, which made it a federal offense to use "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the Constitution, the government, the American uniform, or the flag. In June 1917, Congress passed the Espionage Act. "If there should be disloyalty, it will be dealt with a firm hand of repression." There were "millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy who live amongst us," he said. In his war message to Congress, President Wilson had warned that the war would require a redefinition of national loyalty. Congress passed the Espionage Act, which defined espionage during wartime. America declarated war with Germany in April 1917.
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