AMH 2020 SPSU History Americans and The Great War of 1914 to 1919 Discussion

CHAPTER 23: PROTECTIVE OR DANGEROUS?

Instructions: After reading the chapter in the textbook, reading the module materials, and watching the videos, answer the following question:

In 1917, the US Government passed the Trading with the Enemy Act, the Espionage Act and then in 1918, the Sedition Act. Each of these acts dealt with “protecting” the US from our enemies in World War I. In your opinion, were these acts necessary and protective or did they infringe upon the First Amendment rights of Americans?

You are to answer the question with information from the course, and you are to respond to at least TWO other students’ responses.

 Discussion– Layla Kalil”>Unit 2 Discussion– Layla Kalil

Layla Kalil posted Mar 24, 2021 1:44 PM

World War 1 took place in the years 1914 to 1918. Before and during the war, any form of media and propaganda were very popular here in the US; It’s main priority was to keep the citizens of its country informed at all times. During the war, they also used propaganda to instill confidence and patriotism into their citizens while they were away at war. Because of how easily they were able to put out information, it made leaders in the US wary. Wary because enemies could easily tune in on news reports happening in the US and they could get information that could potentially put them in an advantage and the US in a disadvantage. For example; they could find out when and where ships will depart from, to head to war or they could detect confidential information about our allies. I’m not saying this information was released purposefully or that these exact examples have happened, but the thought process as important as these were what drew US leaders to make the acts that essentially, “censored”, it’s citizens; they wanted to be as cautious as possible, during war. To achieve this, they decided it was important to implement these three acts: Trading with the Enemy Act, Espionage Act, and the Sedition Act. Many have thought to believe it was a violation of our first amendment right because citizens and reporters were limited to things they could post or say and were having to get approval before posting anything. I think that during the war, these measures were appropriate and necessary in order to protect the troops at war, the citizens back in the US, and all the confidential tactics being used against the enemies. It was a way to allow the US to fight in the war without having to worry about any external issues. However, I do not agree with using these acts against citizens after the war was over. It seems to me that several countries have used this “censorship” after the war just to have power over its citizens.

Unit 2 Dsicussion

Courtney Grunbichler posted Mar 22, 2021 2:59 PM

The Trading with the Enemy Act, Espionage Act, and Sedition Act were all attempts to prevent Americans from siding with the enemies. During the beginning of the war, officials were on edge about the enemy forces, which is why they implemented these policies to prevent the criticism of America. However, I believe that the US did not have the constitutional right to implement the Sedition Act. I understand why the government would pass the Trading with Enemies Act to limit and restrict trade between Americans and enemy countries. I also understand why the Espionage Act was passed. During a time of emergency or war, the president implements policies that are usually in Americans’ best interest. I believe the Sedition Act is unconstitutional though. The Espionage Act, which was passed in 1917, protected US information and the spread of it. It was passed in order to prevent spies or other traitors getting access to US military information. This was implemented to protect the US, so I believe it was necessary. The Sedition Act, however, was unconstitutional. It prevented Americans from talking badly about the US, the flag, the military, and the government. Even during war, this is a direct violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. It outlines the liberty of Freedom of Speech. The Sedition Act was an attempt to suppress and criticism or slander about the US to maintain full support. I believe that this act is unconstitutional because it punished Americans for expressing their first amendment right.