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Espionage Act Of 1917 Facts & Worksheets

In America, the Espionage Act of 1917 was passed to provide penalties for those convicted of interfering with the military and promoting the success of the country’s adversaries.

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The Espionage Act of 1917 was passed to provide penalties for those convicted of interfering with military operations, insubordination in the military, and promoting the success of the country’s adversaries. Penalties include 20 years imprisonment and fines up to $10,000. On December 7, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for the legislation. For more information on the Espionage Act read the fact file below or download the comprehensive worksheet pack containing over 11 worksheets.

Facts & Information

Espionage Act of 1917

  • The Senate passed a version of the bill on February 20, 1917. However, the House did not vote before the then-current session of Congress concluded.
  • After the U.S. declared war against Germany in April 1917, the Senate and Congress deliberated versions of the Wilson administration’s drafts, including press censorship.
  • The Senate removed the censorship provision but President Wilson insisted that press censorship was needed.
  • Despite the removal of the censorship, the Espionage Act of 1917 was passed and signed by President Woodrow Wilson on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I.
  • The president’s congressional opponents proposed removing the responsibility for monitoring pro-German activity from the Department of Justice to the War Department.
  • The subsequent Act was more aggressive and restrictive but silenced the people opposed to the war.
  • The Act included the following as a crime:
    1: Conveying information or interfering with military operations, insubordination in the military, and promoting the success of the country’s adversaries. Penalties include 30 years’ imprisonment or punishable by death or both.
    2: Conveying false reports determined to interfere with the success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its adversaries during the war, insubordination in the military or naval forces of the United States, or interfering with military recruitment. Penalties include a maximum fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than 20 years or both.
  • On May 16, 1918, the Espionage Act was reinforced by the Sedition Act.
  • Sedition Act imposed severe penalties on anyone found guilty of committing of conveying false statements that hindered the prosecution of the war, stirring in contradiction of the production of vital war materials, insulting the U.S. government, the flag, the Constitution, or the military, or advocating any of the aforementioned acts.
  • Espionage Act and Sedition Act were intended for socialists or anti-war activists during the First World War. Both Acts were used to punishing effect in the years after the war, specifically during the first Red Scare, the period characterized by the fear against the influence of communism into American society.
  • Labor leader Eugene V. Debs was one of the famous activists arrested during this period. He delivered a speech in 1918 in Canton, Ohio criticizing the Espionage Act and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
  • Considerable parts of the Espionage Act are still part of the United States law up to this day.

Enactment

  • In 1917, the Espionage Act was passed together with the Trading with the Enemy Act. It was done when the U.S. entered WWI in April of the same year. The act was based on the concepts of the Defense Secrets Act of 1911 in processing information. When it became law, it imposed harsher penalties, such as the death penalty, than the 1911 law.
  • The Senate passed a version of the act on February 20, 1917. The United States severed diplomatic relations with Germany. When WWI broke, the Wilson administration’s drafts sparked debate. After almost a week, the debate resulted in the censorship provision being removed by the Senate as favored. Wilson, who cast one of the 38 votes required, signed the Act without censorship provisions on June 15, the day Congress passed it.
  • Though he supported its passage, Atty. Gen. Thomas Watt Gregory saw the Espionage Act as a compromise. The president’s congressional opponents wanted to be relieved of the responsibility of monitoring activities for the benefit of Germany. It resulted in a more aggressive Act with tighter restrictions. Justice Department officials hoped that the Act would halt public calls for more government action.
  • It is illegal under the Espionage Act of 1917 to gather information, take photographs or duplicate descriptions of any information relating to national defense with the intent of using it for the benefit of a foreign nation.
  • The Act empowered the Postmaster General to halt mail publications that he believed violated the Act’s prohibitions.
  • One of its prohibitions is transferring any naval vessel to any nation involved in a conflict in which the United States is neutral.

Amendments

  • The Sedition Act, a set of amendments prohibiting many forms of speech, such as those languages that opposed the form of government of the U.S., extended the Espionage Act on May 16, 1918.
  • Even though the charges were based on the amendments, the cases were still presented under Espionage Act because the name Sedition Act was an informal name.
  • On March 3, 1921, the amendments were repealed. The remaining provisions were codified in U.S.C. Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 37.
  • Another amendment was made in 1933, following the publication of a book by Herbert Yardley detailing how to break Japanese codes. The amendment made it illegal to reveal anything sent in code.
  • An amendment to increase the penalties was made in 1940, as well as in 1970.
  • After numerous attempts, Congressman Richard Poff removed language that limited the Act’s application to the territory in 1961.
  • In 1989, Congressman James Traficant proposed an amendment to broaden the application of the death penalty, while Senator Arlen Specter proposed a similar expansion.
  • In 1994, Robert K. Dornan proposed that the penalty for revealing the identity of a US agent be death.

The Act During World War II

  • During World War II, there were fewer violations of the Espionage Act than during World War I.
  • Hartzel, a World War I veteran, distributed anti-war pamphlets that most of the court found compromising, but no actions detailed in the Act were found. The pamphlets were aimed at public opinion shapers rather than the armed forces. As a result, the majority of the court reversed his conviction.
  • In early 1941, the United States Supreme Court worked on many dubious constitutional issues surrounding the act.
  • The Act denied a mailing permit to Father Charles Coughlin’s weekly Social Justice in 1942, finally ending its distribution to subscribers. It resulted from accusations that Coughlin’s writings were anti-Semitic or harbored prejudice against Jews. As a result, Attorney General Francis Biddle attempted to halt his so-called vermin publications.
  • In addition, the publishers of a June front-page story by Stanley Johnston faced a grand jury in 1942 for possible prosecution under the Act. The headline read, “Navy Had Word of Jap Plan to Strike at Sea.” When it got to Japan, they changed their codebooks and callsign systems. The proceedings were stopped due to the government’s reluctance and concern that the trial would gain more attention to the case.
  • Six Amerasia Magazine associates were arrested in 1945 after publishing articles that were said to be similar to reports made by the Office of Strategic Services. The government intended to use the Act against them, but it ended up charging them with Embezzlement of Government Property.

The Act During the 21st Century

  • The Espionage Act’s first amendment only criminalizes spying to aid the enemies of the United States. Years later, it was expanded to punish anyone who disseminated government information without official permission.
  • In 2001, Army Reserve Colonel George Trofimoff, a retired and the most senior U.S. military officer, was said to violate the Act after conducting espionage from the 1970s-1990s Soviets.
  • Lawrence Franklin, a Pentagon Iran expert, was named under the Act in 2005, along with Rosen and Weissman. He pled guilty to disclosing national defense information to the aforementioned AIPAC lobbyists and an Israeli government official.
  • Kenneth Wayne Ford Jr. was sentenced to 6 years in prison in 2006 for allegedly keeping a box containing documents after leaving NSA employment two years before.
  • During the Obama and Trump administrations, a total of eleven acts of espionage were prosecuted as a result of communication with members of the media.
  • Obama stated at a news conference in 2013 that leaks could endanger people, particularly those armed forces he sent into battle. Obama’s concern for them prompted him to list seven espionage acts.

Criticisms

  • Many people were opposed to the use of the Espionage Act. According to a 2015 study, almost all activists, lawyers, journalists, and whistleblowers claimed that the Act was being misused to leak public interest cases.
  • A 2015 study, conducted by the PEN American Center, included expert comments on the Act, such as the Act being a tool of intimidation.
  • According to Daniel Ellsberg, a Pentagon Papers whistleblower, the Espionage Act limited the people who exposed classified wrongdoings.
  • The restriction on speech, according to Stephen Vladeck, lacked precision.
  • Director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Trevor Timm, concluded that the jury would never hear the whistleblower laying a not guilty plea of the Act.
  • Former whistleblower Jesselyn Radack believes that a non-spy would not be prosecuted fairly or justly under the Espionage Act.

Espionage Act Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use Espionage Act Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about The Espionage Act of 1917 which was passed to provide penalties for those convicted of interfering with military operations, insubordination in the military, and to promote the success of the country’s adversaries

Download includes the following worksheets:

  • Espionage Act Facts
  • Espionage Act Word Search
  • Is It True?
  • Historical Ladder
  • Picture Analysis
  • Guilty or Not
  • Role Power
  • Proposing Amendments
  • Photojournalism
  • My Point of View
  • Poster Making

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the Espionage Act passed?

In 1917, the Espionage Act was passed together with the Trading with the Enemy Act. It was done when the U.S. entered WWI in April of the same year. 

What are considered acts of espionage?

It is illegal under the Espionage Act of 1917 to gather information, take photographs or duplicate descriptions of any information relating to national defense with the intent of using it for the benefit of a foreign nation.

What rights did the Act violate?

The first amendment of the Espionage Act violated the rights to freedom of speech when it resulted in a more aggressive Act with tighter restrictions with the Justice Department officials’ hoping that the Act would halt public calls for more government action.

What was the Espionage Act of 1918?

The Sedition Act, a set of amendments prohibiting many forms of speech, such as those languages that opposed the form of government of the U.S., extended the Espionage Act on May 16, 1918. Even though the charges were based on the amendments, the cases were still presented under Espionage Act because the name Sedition Act was an informal name. 

Does the Espionage Act still exist?

Yes. Actually, during the Obama and Trump administrations, a total of eleven acts of espionage were prosecuted as a result of communication with members of the media.

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