![]() ![]() Wilson, never one to tolerate criticism, justified the legislation by arguing, among other points, that disloyal individuals had themselves sacrificed their rights to civil liberties. In his speech to Congress, Wilson threatened “stern repression” against any acts of disloyalty to the country, and he soon proposed an espionage act, the first law targeting disloyal expression since the infamous Sedition Act of 1798. Woodrow Wilson targeted First Amendment freedoms during World War I German U-boats had sunk three American vessels as part of intense submarine warfare to interdict munitions and supply shipments from the United States to the Allies. A month after his second inauguration, however, Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany. President Woodrow Wilson boasted in his 1916 reelection campaign that he had kept America out of the war engulfing Europe. While the Court upheld the convictions of many individuals who objected to the war, their cases also laid the groundwork for contemporary First Amendment law. government during World War I - although the Court weighed in only after the hostilities ended. The Supreme Court addressed numerous First Amendment issues raised by political actions taken by the U.S. (AP Photo, used with permission from the Associated Press) Convictions under the Espionage Act of people who published anti-war sentiments or discouraged people from enlisting in the draft led to some of the first Supreme Court cases involving speech repression under the First Amendment. That same year, President Wilson proposed the Espionage Act to restrict anti-war criticism that he thought would undermine the war effort. In this April 1917 file photo, World War I Army recruits who answered the call to enlist fill a street in New York City shortly after President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany.
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