Espionage Act of 1917

The Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 and 1918

The Espionage Act of 1917 is closely associated with the Sedition Act of 1918, which was technically a group of amendments to the first law. It specifically extended the law to include several restrictions to free speech, including disparaging language about the US government, the US flag, or the US armed forces.

Because the Sedition Acts were passed as an amendment to the original bill, the Espionage Act of 1917 is sometimes referred to as the Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 and 1918 to encompass the expansion of the original law the next year.

Espionage Act of 1917 Summary

The Espionage Act of 1917 arose out of fear that foreign agents, sympathizers with the US's enemies in World War One, or domestic political opposition would undermine the US war effort. There was a significant population of German immigrants in the US, as well as an active anti-war movement that opposed US participation in the war. Worries about domestic spies was therefore the principal concern of the laws.

Fig 1 - Socialist and antiwar activist Eugene V. Debs is one of the most high profile people to be tried under the Espionage Act of 1917.

One provision of the law made it illegal to convey information that interfered with the US's armed forces or helped its enemies. Violation of this law could result in imprisonment for up to 30 years or even the death penalty.

A second provision made it illegal to convey false information that could hurt the US's armed forces success, interfered with recruitment campaigns, encourage insubordination in the US armed forces, or help its enemies. Violation of this provision could result in a fine up to $10,000 and imprisonment up to 20 years.

The Postmaster General was permitted to refuse to mail and seize and hold communications and publications it determined violated the Espionage Acts, introducing a form of state sanctioned censorship.

The expansion of the law under the Sedition Acts' amendments expressly forbid disloyal or abusive language towards the US government, armed forces, and flag.

The Sedition Act amendments of 1918 were actually repealed in 1921, but much of the original Espionage Act remains in effect today.

Language from the Espionage Act of 1917's Text

Below are some examples of the language used in the Espionage Act of 1917's actual text.

You can also find the primary source here.²

Espionage Act of 1917 Significance

The Espionage Act of 1917's significance can be seen in the events during World War One as well as after.

Effect on WW1 Era Media

During the WWI war effort, many publications were pro-war propaganda. The federal government used this pro-war propaganda to promote entry into WWI.

The Espionage Act of 1917 allowed for publications that directly conflicted with the pro-war propaganda distributed by the federal government to be suppressed. As well as supporting service in the armed forces, the media also emphasized purchasing war bonds, aka liberty bonds.

Fig 2- Propaganda poster encouraging Americans to buy war bonds to support the war effort.

Anti-war propaganda could be prosecuted as criminal activity, and editors of major publications were not excluded.

The editors of "The Masses" did not escape this fate. "The Masses" was a monthly journal that intended to inform the working class on politics, economics, art and literature. The journal had a socialist stance, and during WWI "The Masses" also emphasized an anti-war message. They regularly published political commentary from radical journalists and noted political dissenters.

In July 1917, the US Postmaster declared the August issue to be "unmailable" under the Espionage Act of 1917. The editors were charged in 1918 and tried twice. Each trial ended in a hung jury without a definitive conviction. Still, this case revealed how the Espionage Act could be used to effectively censor messages the government did not want disseminated.

Fig 3 - "Having their Fling," an anti-war cartoon published in "The Masses."

The Red Scare

In 1918-1919, the US experienced a "Red Scare" after the rise to power of Lenin's communist government in Europe. A bombing by anarchists on some US officials, including Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, further contributed to a crackdown on left wing politics.

The Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Acts of 1918 were used to prosecute, convict, and imprison or deport a number of foreign born left wing activists in this period. The 1919 Schenck v. United States Supreme Court decision upheld the acts' restrictions on free speech.

After 1921, with the end of the war and decline of worries about communism, the act was seldom used. Even during World War Two, the number of people tried under the Espionage Act was much smaller than during World War One.

Fig 4 - Cartoon produced in 1919 during the Red Scare.

Cold War and Present Day Application

During the early Cold War, a second Red Scare struck the US, especially after accusations that former US official Alger Hiss had spied for the USSR, and US citizens Julius and Ethel Rosenberg shared nuclear secrets with the Soviet Union. The Rosenbergs were tried and convicted under the Espionage Act.

In 1971, after the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not prevent the publication of the documents in newspapers but that they could potentially be prosecuted under the Espionage Act.

In recent years, two high-profile cases related to the Espionage Act of 1917 were the leaks of confidential information by Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning.

Legacy

This legislation was part of a new frontier in controlling the domestic opinion on the US entry into WWI. Domestic spies were a significant fear during WWI, and the federal government saw the Espionage Act of 1917 as a defensive response.

The Espionage Act of 1917 not only criminalized vocal opposition, the act of refusing to comply with the draft was also criminalized by this legislation. This act continues to be an important part of federal law today, although with more of a concentration on the sharing of sensitive information or intelligence.