The Espionage Act of 1917 reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Espionage Act of 1917

The Espionage Act was passed by the 65th United States Congress on June 15, 1917, during World War I.

This act made it a crime, punishable by a $10,000 fine and 20 years in jail, for a person to 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.

The laws were ruled constitutional in the United States Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919).

The law was later extended in 1918 by the Sedition Act, which made it illegal to even speak out against the government.

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