Espionage Act of 1917
E10089
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a U.S. federal law enacted during World War I that criminalizes interference with military operations, support for U.S. enemies, and certain forms of dissent, and has been widely used and debated in national security and free speech cases.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Sedition Act of 1918 | 2 |
| United States Espionage and Sedition Acts | 1 |
Statements (59)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf | United States federal statute ⓘ |
| amendedBy |
Espionage Act of 1917
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Sedition Act of 1918
|
| areaOfLaw |
constitutional law
ⓘ
criminal law ⓘ military law ⓘ |
| chamberInvolved |
United States House of Representatives
ⓘ
United States Senate ⓘ |
| codifiedIn | Title 18 of the United States Code ⓘ |
| controversy |
alleged conflict with First Amendment free speech protections
ⓘ
use against journalists and publishers ⓘ use against political dissenters ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| dateEnacted | 1917-06-15 ⓘ |
| enactedIn | World War I ⓘ |
| hasBeenAmended | true ⓘ |
| historicalUse |
prosecution of anti-war activists during World War I
ⓘ
prosecution of leakers of classified information ⓘ prosecution of whistleblowers ⓘ |
| inspiredBy |
concerns about disloyalty during World War I
ⓘ
concerns about wartime sabotage ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
United States government
ⓘ
surface form:
United States federal government
|
| legalDoctrineInfluenced | clear and present danger test ⓘ |
| maximumPenalty | death in certain cases ⓘ |
| passedBy | United States Congress ⓘ |
| penaltyIncludes |
fines
ⓘ
imprisonment ⓘ |
| presidentAtEnactment | Woodrow Wilson ⓘ |
| primaryCodificationSection |
18 U.S.C. § 793
ⓘ
18 U.S.C. § 794 ⓘ 18 U.S.C. § 798 ⓘ |
| prohibits |
conveying false reports to interfere with the military
ⓘ
interference with military operations ⓘ interference with military recruitment ⓘ support for U.S. enemies in wartime ⓘ unauthorized communication of national defense information ⓘ unauthorized retention of national defense information ⓘ |
| publicLawNumber | 40-24 ⓘ |
| relatedLegislation |
Sedition Act of 1918
ⓘ
Smith Act ⓘ USA PATRIOT Act ⓘ |
| sectionFocus | Section 3 on interference with the draft ⓘ |
| signedBy | Woodrow Wilson ⓘ |
| statutesAtLargeCitation | 40 Stat. 217 ⓘ |
| stillInForce | true ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
classified information
ⓘ
espionage ⓘ military operations ⓘ national security ⓘ wartime censorship ⓘ |
| usedInCase |
Abrams v. United States
ⓘ
Debs v. United States ⓘ Frohwerk v. United States ⓘ New York Times Co. v. United States ⓘ Schenck v. United States ⓘ United States v. Chelsea Manning ⓘ United States v. Daniel Ellsberg ⓘ United States v. Edward Snowden ⓘ United States v. Julian Assange ⓘ |
| yearIntroduced | 1917 ⓘ |
Referenced by (18)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Sedition Act of 1918
this entity surface form:
United States Espionage and Sedition Acts