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Why did Congress pass the Espionage Act in 1917 and the Sedition Act in 1918?

User AmineTech
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Fearing that anti-war speeches and street pamphlets would undermine the war effort, President Woodrow Wilson and Congress passed two laws, the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918, that criminalized any “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” about the U.S. government or military.

User ThomasA
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