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The
Espionage Act, passed in 1917, made it a crime to obstruct military
recruitment and it authorized the Postmaster General to deny mailing
privileges to any material he considered treasonous or harmful to the war
effort. The Sedition
Act, passed in 1918, made it illegal to “utter, print, write or publish
any disloyal, profane, scurrilous or abusive language” about the government,
the Constitution, the flag, the armed forces or even the “uniform of the
Army or Navy.” Considering
the two above mentioned Acts, decide whether or not the defendants in the
cases below are “guilty” or “not guilty.”Be prepared to explain your
group’s decision.If “guilty,” determine a sentence and/or a fine. Case #1: The American
Revolution Movie
A Hollywood movie producer
issued a film, The Spirit of 76, which portrayed some scenes in which
British soldiers committed some atrocities.Claiming that the film questioned
the faith of our ally, Great Britain, the prosecution argued that the war
effort demanded total Allied support.
Guilty or Not Guilty?
Sentence/Fine: Case
#2: The Anti-Draft Circulars An American
Socialist, feeling that American involvement in World War I was an attempt to
bolster the capitalist system, mailed circulars to men eligible for the draft,
stating that being conscripted against one’s will was unconstitutional and
should be resisted.The prosecution argued that this interfered with the
government’s right to raise an army in time of war. Guilty
or Not Guilty? Sentence/Fine: Case
#3: The Leaflets Dropped From a Window Several
men, concerned about America’s involvement in the unfolding Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia, dropped some leaflets from a window to pedestrians
below.The leaflets urged that American workers go on strike to protest
America’s involvement in another nation’s civil war.The prosecution argued
that while the leaflets made no statement about the U.S.’s role in World War
or its allies, a strike might hamper war production and thus their actions
were illegal. Guilty
or Not Guilty? Sentence/Fine: Case
#4: The Anti-Draft Speech An American
Socialist leader stood on a street corner in Cincinnati, Ohio and told a crowd
of passers-by that the draft was wrong, that the European War was not
America’s fight, and that the U.S. should withdraw its troops
immediately.The prosecution contended that these words were inflammatory and
could hinder the recruitment of soldiers by the Selective Service
Administration. Guilty
or Not Guilty? Sentence/Fine:
Civil
Liberty Case Results Case
#1: The American Revolution Movie
U.S. v. Spirit of ’76The
producer was fined $10,000 and given a 10-year prison sentence (later
commuted to three years).
Case
#2: The Anti-Draft Circulars
Schenck v. U.S.A
10-year sentence upheld by the Supreme Court, which established the “clear
and present danger” doctrine for the boundaries of permissible speech.
Case
#3: The Leaflets Dropped From a Window
Abrams v. U.S.A
20-year sentence upheld by the Supreme Court.Abrams was later released from
prison on the condition that he emigrate to the Soviet Union.
Case
#4: The Anti-Draft Speech
U.S. v. Debs10-year
sentence commuted by President Harding in 1921.
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