Socialist_Control

Socialist Control Throughout World War I the government feared socialism, and did many things to try to cut down on its growth. Congress passed the Espionage Act in June of 1917 as an act against people who were against the war. The Post Office Department began taking away the mailing privileges of newspapers and magazines that printed antiwar articles. Also, a great number of people were mistreated physically for refusing to fight in a war they did not believe in. Form its title one would suppose the Espionage Act was an act against spying, but in reality it was used to imprison Americans who spoke or wrote against the war. Zinn says, "Two months after the law passes, a Socialist named Charles Shcneck was arrested in Philadelphia for printing and distributing fifteen thousand leaflets that denounced the draft law and the war...Schneck was indicted, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to six months in jail for violating the Espionage Act." Throughout the war, thousands of people were tried for violating the act, and almost all were found guilty, even though many of them were only exercising their Constitutional right of freedom of speech. Magazines and books were restricted from being mailed because they promoted war, act, socialist, against, espionage, right, people, magazines, government, because, zinn, violating, very, tried, things, taken, says, refusing, purposes, months, men, law, guilty, found, form, fight, even, draft, combatant, bodies, believe, being, 1917, wrote, wrong, whore