USA HISTORY

Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully . . . utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States . . . shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10, 000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both. . . .-Espionage Act, May 1918 This law demonstrates that at one time the federal government was willing to-

(A) suspend habeas corpus

(B) confiscate privately owned weapons

(C) force people into internment camps

(D) ** suspend freedom of speech

Concept note-1: -The Sedition Act forbade Americans to use “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” about the United States government, flag, or armed forces during war time. In 1916 the federal government established the Council of National Defense.

Concept note-2: -incite disloyalty within the military; use in speech or written form any language that was disloyal to the government, the Constitution, the military, or the flag; advocate strikes on labor production; promote principles that were in violation of the act; or. support countries at war with the United States.

Concept note-3: -The Act criminalized the publication or distribution of “information” that could harm or hinder US armed forces as well as of “false reports or false statements” intended to promote America’s enemies, and it empowered the Postmaster General to seize mail that it judged to fall within these categories.