World War I's Effect On Civil Liberties

The First World War impacted significantly on the homefronts of the participating nations in many different social, political and economic areas. There was a widespread restructuring of primary industry with a large orientation towards militarism. There was massive political change where new systems of power were introduced that gave governments a range of new powers including the control over industry. The civilian population had severe restrictions placed upon their rights and liberties due to the necessities that total war required.

America’s involvement in World War I not only impacted the war front but also the people left on the home front. When America entered World War I in 1917 the government enforced many measures on its citizens, many of which violated constitutional rights. The biggest measure inflicted on the American population was censorship. The formation of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) and the passing of the Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment stole American’s freedom of speech, created an anti-German sentiment, and led to deportation during the post-war Red Scare.

World War I significantly influenced the modern world in which all humanity subsists. The United States of America was altered internally and externally by the Great War. Shadowing World War I America was distinguished as a supreme nation holding great power; subsequently the nation would be redefined politically, economically, and socially.

The use of U.S Government Acts to surveil it's citizens and corrupt can be traced back to 1917, when the Espionage Act first took place. The Espionage Act was a law which prohibited many forms of speech, including any "disloyal,profane,scurrilous, or abusive" language about the form of Government in the United States. This law was later extended under the name of The sedition act of 1918 to "cover a broader range of offenses,notably speech and expression of opinion" that obstructed the war effort.As time passed the laws were slowly extended, it was until the Red Scare hysteria when the fear of the bolshevist and anarchism kicked in and the justification was "the safety of the people".To Avoid for

World War I changed America greatly. It had an obvious effect on the way we handle business on the home front. Propaganda, rationing, and political views all played a part on American citizens in World War I.

"…neither can they fully convey our Nation 's resolve to rectify injustice and to uphold the rights of individuals. We can never fully right the wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World War II."

After the Espionage Act, came the Sedition Act in 1918. The Sedition Act did not allow language “tending to incite, provoke, and encourage resistance to the United States in said war”. This Act infringed further on people’s First Amendment rights. Individuals’ abilities to express themselves were curtailed. One of the people that went against this Act was Joseph Abrams. Abrams was a Russian immigrant who did not agree with the Americans invading Russia. Because of this,

During WWII many civil liberties were affected and felt by the American people; some of these decisions include new policies on foreigners and civil defense groups in towns. A major facet of homefront life in WWII was the discrimination faced by Japanese/German/Italian Americans, especially the Japanese, After the attack on Pearl Harbor which drew the United States into the war, Americans developed a fear towards immigrants and foreigners; not unlike the fear felt during the 1920’s after WWI. Local, state, and federal governments began drafting new laws and policies against persons whose ancestry is that of any of the Axis powers (Italy-Germany-Japan). For instance, a new law stated that all residents (“enemy aliens”) of German, Japanese, or Italian descent were required to register with the government, submit to fingerprinting, and list all their organizational affiliations. In addition, many of these peoples were forced to submit to curfews and travel restrictions. Furthermore, during this time, Japanese persons could not join the military until 1943 due to racism and fears of the American people. In February of 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which designated certain areas as war zones, and allowed for the removal of anyone for any reason. This led to the internment of Japanese people. Japanese-Americans were forced to either store or sell nearly all their property and belongings, only permitted to take “necessities”,

This act very blatantly restricted freedom of expression but was passed anyways. This is because judicial review was still very new and the Congress that passed it was mostly federalist and John Adam the president at the time was also a federalist. These laws were meant to suppress Republican opposition of the laws passed by the congress regarding immigrants. When Thomas Jefferson became president the laws were no longer used And remained that way until later wars. In 1917 during WWI this law was brought back in the form of the Espionage Act which was also referred to as the Sedition Act. The main purpose of this law was to supersede existing espionage laws and weren't much different from them but it went a step further it deemed a criminal anyone who, "when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies and whoever when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct the recruiting or

Before World War One, people were allowed to watch, write, or say anything they wanted to as long as they weren’t harming anyone. However, the Republicans and Democrats were arguing over whether or not we should have more censorship. The Democrats wanted more censorship, but Republicans didn’t want more censorship. As it was stated in document 1, they didn’t want the president to be able to block himself from getting criticism. The Espionage and Sedition Acts were put in place so that people couldn’t interfere with the success of the army, it was to help find people who were disloyal to the army.

Therefore the Federal legislation passed a law making it illegal to speak against the government also known as the Espionage Act

The Bill of Rights had a major impact as a new constitution was set throughout the country. As a non-violent action, the constitution convention had put together a new system for American government( Pohel, 2014). Unlike the previous rebellious actions I had discussed above, the Bill of Rights was a result of a peaceful conference that changed America. The shift of power from the states government to the National government was a significant change as Americans worried that the National Government was going to end up like the British, which overly abused their power that turned the country into tyrannic society. To make the people worry less about the problem, the Bill of Rights prohibited the National government from disregarding people’s right. This made the majority of people changed their mind into supporting the Constitution. In a longer term, the Bill of Rights reminded the government the importance of people’s rights and how they should never be neglected. Despite the influences of the Bill of Rights, violent actions were still did a better job in helping the country to grow. The War of 1812 represented a strong statement made by the United States to show

When America entered World War I in 1917 the U.S. Government enforced many measures on its citizens. Some of these measures violated constitutional rights. The biggest measure inflicted on the American population was censorship. The formation of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) and the passing of the Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment

Since people did not agree with the war. There were Acts put in place. One was the Espionage Act and the other was the Sedition Act. The Acts made it illegal for people to criticize the war and not be able to put up information about not supporting the war. People that did not agree with the war and stated it could be criminalized because the people were looked at like they were enemies.

World War II had a definite impact on the United States. It changed how people lived and how other people were viewed. Not many people realize the treatment of people from our own country during World War II. Three groups of people that were affected were women, African Americans, and Japanese Americans. The lives of these people were changed drastically, whether by having to work, mistreatment because of skin color, or by being blamed for something that was done by a country they were native to.