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Pros And Cons Of The Sedition Act

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I believe that the Sedition Act of 1918 was an unconstitutional law. This is because it violates the constitution of the United States of America. The very first amendment, the first guaranteed right given to US Citizens, is the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. The Sedition Act restricted these rights, and effectively forbid the criticism of the US Government. There were many cases like Schenk vs. the US, and many lead to convictions. By the time the act was repealed, there had been almost 2000 different convictions under the act.

The Sedition act violated the US Constitution by restricting the right of free speech. The first Amendment of the constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." This amendment means that the Sedition Act, which basically forbid people from speaking out against the government, was completely against the constitution. The amendment states that the US Congress is not allowed, in any way, to prevent people from speaking out against the government, or prevent the press from printing …show more content…

A Supreme Justice sated his opinion, "When a nation is at war, many things might be said in time of peace that are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight." The Supreme court ruled that as long as a war continued, free speech could be a threat to public and national safety. If either free speech or freedom of the press presented a "clear and present danger," then it could be restricted by law. In short, the Sedition Act could be upheld as long as proof that free speech represented a danger to the public or national safety of

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