-Civil liberties is defined as the basic rights guaranteed to individual citizens by law
-During world war 1 individuals rights were being taken away by the government
-People who opposed the war were often sent to jail or lost their jobs
-Rights like freedom of speech and the right to protest were being suppressed Civil liberties Events that had a major effect Causes -government was trying to limit the
opposition to the war
-when propaganda wasn't enough they
started forcing people to support the
allied powers
-president Woodrow Wilson said "gravest threats against our national peace and safety have been uttered within our own borders." The Espionage Act, passed in
June 1917, provided penalties
of 20 years imprisonment and
fines up to $10,000 for those
convicted of interfering with
military recruitment. The sedition act of 1918 made
it a crime to disrupt military
recruiting or enlistments, to
encourage support for Germany
and its allies or disrespect for
American war efforts. Schenck vs. United States
-Charles Schenck was the Secretary
of the Socialist Party of America and
responsible for printing, distributing,
and mailing to prospective draftees
during WWI opposing the war
-convicted of violating the Espionage Act
-appealed to the Supreme Court saying their
decision violated his first amendment rights
-court held that Schenck's conviction was constitutional
-the first amendment did not protect speech encouraging insubordination
-"clear and present danger"
-Schenck spent 6 months in prison Activists Eugene V. Debs
*an American Labor and
political leader, and 5 time
Socialist Party of America Candidate
for the American presidency
*made an anti-war speech in Canton,
Ohio protesting involvement in WWI
*arrested under Espionage act
*sentenced to serve 10 yrs in prison and
disenfranchised for life Upton Sinclair
sorry for this being sooooo long
