Not long after the United States joined the war did President Wilson take action to promote American involvement on the homefront. While projects such as the Committee on Public Information and the "four-minute men" were relatively benign in their propaganda efforts, vigilantism and repression still flourished. Legislation reflected this sentiment in the Espionage and Sedition Acts. On June 15, 1917, Congress passed the Espionage Act; this threatened sentences of up to twenty years and fines of up to ten thousand dollars to any person working against domestic efforts to garner support for war involvement. The act also would imprison violators if they were found aiding enemy nations and allowed the screening of mail. The following year brought the passage of the Sedition Act, which brought harsher penalties to citizens who spoke out against government actions during the First World War. It is now easy to see that these measures were slightly extreme, and much of the apparent danger was attributed to the growing Red Scare that accompanied World War I. However, the United States government saw how vital it was to gather approval during this very controversial war.
Web. 26 Apr 2011. <http://explorepahistory.com/cms/pbfiles/Project1/Scheme34/ExplorePAHistory-a0m7l8-a_349.jpg>.
No comments:
Post a Comment