How Did The Espionage And Sedition Acts Affect Society

The third way that World War One impacted life in America was the Espionage and Sedition Act. The Espionage and Sedition Acts were the governments way of restricting freedom of speech. The government made it illegal to speak out against the war, and made it illegal to speak poorly of the military. In the book, Give Me Liberty, it indicated that the “Espionage Act of 1917 prohibited not only spying and interfering with the draft but also false statements that might impede military success” (Foner, Give Me Liberty, 594). The Espionage Act, was created to keep the American people unable to talk poorly about the military and government. In the book, Give Me Liberty, it indicated that the “Sedition Act of 1918, it was made a crime to make spoken

The most prominent victim was Eugene Debs, who was convicted under the Espionage Act for delivering an antiwar speech. Report of the speech at Canton on June 16, that not a word of the speech had warrant the charges of the indictment. Debs admitted to delivering the speech. Debs purpose was to have the people understand something about the social system in which they lived in and prepare them to change to system, peacefully and orderly. Debs has never advocated violence in any form. Debs admitting to being opposed to the current social system. Susan B. Anthony, Gerrit Smith, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, were leaders of the abolition movement who were regarded as public enemies, they are all in history. From the beginning of the war to the day of the trail has never been guilty of the charges against him. If Debs criticized it is because he believed that it was his duty, and his right under the laws of the land. Debs believes in the constitution, believes in the right of free speech, in war as well as peace. It is far more dangerous to attempt to gag the people than to allow them to speak freely. If the Espionage Law stands, then the Constitution of the United States is dead. American institutions are on trial here before a court of American citizens. The future will render the final verdict (Foner, Voices of Freedom, Document

The Great Migration was people mostly blacks moving from the south to the north. In the book, Give Me Liberty, it indicated that “between 1910 and 1920, half a million blacks left the south” (Foner, Give Me Liberty, 602). There were many reasons that blacks moved to the south. In the book, Give Me Liberty, it indicated that “the great migration had opportunities for educating children, escaping the threat of lynching and the prospect of exercising the right to vote” (Foner, Give Me Liberty, 602). Blacks wanted to move to the north to create a better life for themselves. Even though the north sounded like a better place, with numerous opportunities, it was very dangerous to escape the south. The primary document that relates to the Great Migration is Document 129, titled Rubie Bond, The Great Migration. In Voices of Freedom Document 129 indicated