Under the Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 and 1918:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Under the Espionage and Sedition Acts, criticism of government leaders or war policies became a crime. Speaking and writing against Germany and Italy may have also been considered a crime, but the focus was on limiting criticism of the government. There were more than 25 prosecutions and over 1,000 convictions under these acts. Censorship was also aimed at radical groups, not just middle America. While some towns with large German populations were placed under surveillance, none were put under martial law specifically because of their ethnic makeup.