Espionage Act

References

Espionage Act

United States [1917]

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June 26, 2026

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The Espionage Act of 1917 was a U.S. law enacted during World War I that made it illegal to obstruct the war effort. This included making false statements that could harm U.S. military operations or encourage insubordination. The Act defined espionage as obtaining secret information through spies or illegal monitoring.1

A significant legal challenge arose from this Act in Schenck v. United States. The Supreme Court upheld the Act, ruling that freedom of speech could be restricted if it posed a "clear and present danger" to society. This meant that speech considered harmful to national security, especially during wartime, was not protected under the First Amendment.2

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Eugene V. Debs
…charged with violation of the 1917 Espionage Act. He was released from prison by presidential order in 1921; however, his U.S. citizenship, which he lost when he was convicted of sedition in 1918, was restored only posthumously in 1976. Debs’s years of living in harsh prison conditions adversely affected his…
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…charged with violation of the 1917 Espionage Act. He was released from prison by presidential order in 1921; however, his U.S. citizenship, which he lost when he was convicted of sedition in 1918, was restored only posthumously in 1976. Debs’s years of living in harsh prison conditions adversely affected his…
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A. Mitchell Palmer
…that post, he used the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 as a basis for launching an unprecedented campaign against political radicals, suspected dissidents, left-wing organizations, and aliens. He deported the self-avowed anarchist Emma Goldman and others suspected of subversive activities. On January 2, 1920, government…
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…that post, he used the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 as a basis for launching an unprecedented campaign against political radicals, suspected dissidents, left-wing organizations, and aliens. He deported the self-avowed anarchist Emma Goldman and others suspected of subversive activities. On January 2, 1920, government…
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Schenck v. United States
…War I, Congress passed the Espionage Act, which made it illegal during wartime to
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…War I, Congress passed the Espionage Act, which made it illegal during wartime to
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United States
Mobilization
…was sternly suppressed under the Espionage Act of 1917. At the same time, the Committee on Public Information, headed by the progressive journalist George Creel, mobilized publicists, scholars, and others in a vast prowar propaganda effort. By the spring of 1918, the American people and their economy had been harnessed…
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…was sternly suppressed under the Espionage Act of 1917. At the same time, the Committee on Public Information, headed by the progressive journalist George Creel, mobilized publicists, scholars, and others in a vast prowar propaganda effort. By the spring of 1918, the American people and their economy had been harnessed…
Read More