Presidential Mistakes: Woodrow Wilson and the Sedition Act of 1918
When the United States entered the First World War, Congress passed legislation similar to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. Part of this legislation was practical and necessary in a wartime environment in which foreign government was ready to interfere with the domestic tranquility of the United States. Other parts went too far, and resulted in the jailing of critics whose only crime was to disagree with their government.
The Espionage Act of 1917 was legislation which made it a crime to interfere with the American war effort or with military recruitment. It also made it an offense to attempt to aid a nation at war with the U.S. But because there were groups of Americans, including those from certain European nations, whose opposition to the war was intense, this law was viewed by some as inadequate. Wartime violence on the part of some groups persuaded some lawmakers that the law was insufficient to address another problem, that of instances of public disorder in which vigilante groups sought to punish unpopular speech with acts of violence against those they believed to be undermining their own government. The sentiment behind Congress's efforts to address the problem were not entirely without merit. Congress's goal was to enhance the government's authority to prevent mobs from doing what the government could not do.
So in 1918, Congress passed the Sedition Act, an law that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, including speech and the expression of opinion that was critical of the government or the war effort of which cast them in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.
The Sedition Act prohibited the use of language that was "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces or that caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt. Those who were convicted under the act generally received sentences of imprisonment for five to 20 years. The act also allowed the Postmaster General to refuse to deliver mail that offended the Act.
The Act applied only to times "when the United States is in war." The U.S. was in fact in a declared state of war at the time of passage, that being the First World War. Around fifteen hundred prosecutions were carried out under the Espionage and Sedition Acts, resulting in more than a thousand convictions.
When the law was being debated, there was considerable opposition in the Senate, with the leading critics being Republicans Senators Henry Cabot Lodge and Hiram Johnson. Lodge opposed the Act's restrictions of free speech, while Johnson believed that the laws already in place were adequate. Former president Theodore Roosevelt voiced opposition as well, siding with his friend Lodge. President Woodrow Wilson and his Attorney General Thomas Watt Gregory defended the bill. But they did oppose proposals that would have moved prosecutorial authority from the Justice Department to the War Department.
The final vote for passage was 48 to 26 in the Senate and 293 to 1 in the House of Representatives, with the sole dissenting vote in the House cast by Representative Meyer London of New York.
Officials in the Justice Department hoped that the law's presence would be sufficient to quell offensive speech without the necessity for a great deal of enforcement. This proved to be wishful thinking. Surprisingly (or not), most U.S. newspapers showed no opposition toward the act and in fact many of the leading papers led the movement in support of its enactment.
The legislation came very late in the war, just a few months before Armistice Day. But there were still a number of notable prosecutions. These Marie Equi, who was arrested for giving a speech at the IWW hall in Portland, Oregon that was critical of the Wilson administration. She was convicted after the war was over.
In April 1918, the government arrested industrialist William Edenborn, a naturalized citizen from Germany, at his railroad business in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was accused of speaking "disloyally" when he allegedly belittled the threat of Germany to the security of the United States.
Perhaps the most famous case was that of Socialist Party leader and former Indiana Congressman Eugene V. Debs. In June 1918, Debs was arrested for violating the Sedition Act by undermining the government's conscription efforts. He had given speeches urging Americans to resist the draft. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. He served his sentence in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary from April 13, 1919, until December 1921, when President Warren Harding commuted Debs' sentence to time served, effective on Christmas Day. In March 1919, at the suggestion of Attorney General Thomas Watt Gregory, President Woodrow Wilson released or reduced the sentences of some two hundred prisoners convicted under the Espionage Act or the Sedition Act. But he refused to pardon or commute the sentence of Debs. Wilson wrote: "While the flower of American youth was pouring out its blood to vindicate the cause of civilization, this man, Debs, stood behind the lines sniping, attacking, and denouncing them. This man was a traitor to his country and he will never be pardoned during my administration."
The act was rendered inoperative by the end of the war. Rather than reducing criticism of government, a new wave of anti-government sentiment was created. Attorney General Mitchell Palmer waged a public campaign, which he intended to supplement his own campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in 1920. He was in favor of a peacetime version of the Sedition Act. He sent a op ed piece to newspaper editors in January 1919, setting out why he thought this was needed. He claimed that there were foreign-language factions and other radical elements who were attempting to create unrest. He testified before Congress in favor of such a law in early June 1920. Despite this, Congress took no action on his controversial proposal. But public opinion turned against him. Even the conservative Christian Science Monitor wrote on June 25, 1920: "What appeared to be an excess of radicalism was certainly met with an excess of suppression."
By the end of his second term in office, Congress had turned against Woodrow Wilson. It repealed the Sedition Act on December 13, 1920. When Warren Harding commuted the sentence of Eugene V. Debs on Christmas Day of 1921, he met with Debs at the White House. Debs had been described as a model prisoner, respected by inmates and prison guards alike. When Harding met Debs, he is reported to have said "Well, I've heard so damned much about you, Mr. Debs, that I am now glad to meet you personally."
The Espionage Act of 1917 was legislation which made it a crime to interfere with the American war effort or with military recruitment. It also made it an offense to attempt to aid a nation at war with the U.S. But because there were groups of Americans, including those from certain European nations, whose opposition to the war was intense, this law was viewed by some as inadequate. Wartime violence on the part of some groups persuaded some lawmakers that the law was insufficient to address another problem, that of instances of public disorder in which vigilante groups sought to punish unpopular speech with acts of violence against those they believed to be undermining their own government. The sentiment behind Congress's efforts to address the problem were not entirely without merit. Congress's goal was to enhance the government's authority to prevent mobs from doing what the government could not do.
So in 1918, Congress passed the Sedition Act, an law that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, including speech and the expression of opinion that was critical of the government or the war effort of which cast them in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.
The Sedition Act prohibited the use of language that was "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces or that caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt. Those who were convicted under the act generally received sentences of imprisonment for five to 20 years. The act also allowed the Postmaster General to refuse to deliver mail that offended the Act.
The Act applied only to times "when the United States is in war." The U.S. was in fact in a declared state of war at the time of passage, that being the First World War. Around fifteen hundred prosecutions were carried out under the Espionage and Sedition Acts, resulting in more than a thousand convictions.
When the law was being debated, there was considerable opposition in the Senate, with the leading critics being Republicans Senators Henry Cabot Lodge and Hiram Johnson. Lodge opposed the Act's restrictions of free speech, while Johnson believed that the laws already in place were adequate. Former president Theodore Roosevelt voiced opposition as well, siding with his friend Lodge. President Woodrow Wilson and his Attorney General Thomas Watt Gregory defended the bill. But they did oppose proposals that would have moved prosecutorial authority from the Justice Department to the War Department.
The final vote for passage was 48 to 26 in the Senate and 293 to 1 in the House of Representatives, with the sole dissenting vote in the House cast by Representative Meyer London of New York.
Officials in the Justice Department hoped that the law's presence would be sufficient to quell offensive speech without the necessity for a great deal of enforcement. This proved to be wishful thinking. Surprisingly (or not), most U.S. newspapers showed no opposition toward the act and in fact many of the leading papers led the movement in support of its enactment.
The legislation came very late in the war, just a few months before Armistice Day. But there were still a number of notable prosecutions. These Marie Equi, who was arrested for giving a speech at the IWW hall in Portland, Oregon that was critical of the Wilson administration. She was convicted after the war was over.
In April 1918, the government arrested industrialist William Edenborn, a naturalized citizen from Germany, at his railroad business in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was accused of speaking "disloyally" when he allegedly belittled the threat of Germany to the security of the United States.
Perhaps the most famous case was that of Socialist Party leader and former Indiana Congressman Eugene V. Debs. In June 1918, Debs was arrested for violating the Sedition Act by undermining the government's conscription efforts. He had given speeches urging Americans to resist the draft. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. He served his sentence in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary from April 13, 1919, until December 1921, when President Warren Harding commuted Debs' sentence to time served, effective on Christmas Day. In March 1919, at the suggestion of Attorney General Thomas Watt Gregory, President Woodrow Wilson released or reduced the sentences of some two hundred prisoners convicted under the Espionage Act or the Sedition Act. But he refused to pardon or commute the sentence of Debs. Wilson wrote: "While the flower of American youth was pouring out its blood to vindicate the cause of civilization, this man, Debs, stood behind the lines sniping, attacking, and denouncing them. This man was a traitor to his country and he will never be pardoned during my administration."
The act was rendered inoperative by the end of the war. Rather than reducing criticism of government, a new wave of anti-government sentiment was created. Attorney General Mitchell Palmer waged a public campaign, which he intended to supplement his own campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in 1920. He was in favor of a peacetime version of the Sedition Act. He sent a op ed piece to newspaper editors in January 1919, setting out why he thought this was needed. He claimed that there were foreign-language factions and other radical elements who were attempting to create unrest. He testified before Congress in favor of such a law in early June 1920. Despite this, Congress took no action on his controversial proposal. But public opinion turned against him. Even the conservative Christian Science Monitor wrote on June 25, 1920: "What appeared to be an excess of radicalism was certainly met with an excess of suppression."
By the end of his second term in office, Congress had turned against Woodrow Wilson. It repealed the Sedition Act on December 13, 1920. When Warren Harding commuted the sentence of Eugene V. Debs on Christmas Day of 1921, he met with Debs at the White House. Debs had been described as a model prisoner, respected by inmates and prison guards alike. When Harding met Debs, he is reported to have said "Well, I've heard so damned much about you, Mr. Debs, that I am now glad to meet you personally."