Existing comment:
Sedition Law Passes
After the Sedition Act, passed on May 16, 1918, augmented the already stringent Espionage Act of 1917, the New York Herald ran this cartoon by William Allen Rogers touting Uncle Sam's expanded authority to "round up" those that would oppose the government. Rogers identifies the undesirables as spies, Irish separatists, and radical anti-war International Workers of the World, commonly known as the "Wobblies." The law now made it illegal time of war to "willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government . . . the Constitution . . . the military or naval forces . . . the flag . . . or the uniform of the Army or Navy of the United States." |