Sedition Act

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

The opening two paragraphs of the Sedition Act state that the act is an amendment to Title I, section 3, of the Espionage Act. The amendment specifies that when the United States is at war, a person can be fined up to $10,000 or imprisoned for up to twenty years for a variety of offenses. One consists of making false statements or transmitting false reports that interfere with the operation of US military forces or that promote the success of the enemy. Another is making or transmitting false reports or statements interfering with the sale of war bonds and similar securities used to finance the war effort. A third entails inciting insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, and refusal to serve in the military or obstructing the recruitment or enlistment of persons in the military. A fourth involves publishing, writing, or printing any material that attacks or brings into discredit the US government, its flag, or the uniform of US military personnel or that advocates curbing the production of materials necessary to the prosecution of the war. Finally, the amendment makes it illegal to advocate, teach, or defend any of the specified offenses. The amendment goes on to state that any US government employee who is guilty of disloyalty or uttering unpatriotic language or who criticizes the US military or the US flag in an “abusive and violent manner” can be fired.

The Sedition Act further specifies that the US postmaster general has the authority to have any mail containing material that violates the act returned to the postmaster with the words “Mail to this address undeliverable under Espionage Act” written on the envelope. The mail then is to be returned to the sender.