Freedom Of American Citizens During World War Essay

During World War I, many questions arose about how to effectively balance the nation’s security with the various freedoms of its citizens, along with debates over whether the Constitution protected citizens’ rights during the war. Ultimately, these questions arose because many citizens were questioning America’s involvement in World War I and believed that the United States fighting in the war was a bad decision. This led to some government officials believing that there was a lack of patriotism in the United States, so President Wilson’s administration established the Committee on Public Information (COPI). The purpose of the COPI was to explain to American citizens (and the world) exactly why America decided to join the war, hoping that individuals

Although the COPI didn’t directly restrict the freedom of American citizens during World War I, it did seek to manipulate their opinions about the war in a way that wasn’t exactly honorable, and one can argue that the actions of the COPI would likely be seen in a negative manner today. However, citizens’ rights were indeed restricted during World War I, specifically citizens’ freedom of speech. For instance, the government enacted the Espionage Act of 1917 to restrict the freedom of American citizens by prohibiting them from spying, interfering with the draft, or making statements that could potentially hinder the triumph of the military. As a result, individuals against the war were unable to freely present their opinions to the public through the mail, newspapers, or magazines because if they tried to do so, their information would be blacklisted. Even more seriously, the government acted to restrict the freedom of its citizens in other ways, like arresting Eugene V. Debs and sending him to prison after he delivered an antiwar speech in direct violation of the Espionage