Case Categories: Espionage Act

Congress enacted the Espionage Act of 1917 on June 15, two months after the United States entered World War I. 

The Espionage Act of 1917 prohibited obtaining information, recording pictures, or copying descriptions of any information relating to the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information may be used for the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.

The act also created criminal penalties for anyone obstructing enlistment in the armed forces or causing insubordination or disloyalty in military or naval forces.

In June 1918, Title 1 of the Espionage Act was expanded to limit speech critical of the war with the passage of the Sedition Act of 1918. Although Congress repealed the Sedition Act of 1918 in 1921, many portions of the Espionage Act of 1917 are still law.

Several cases involving the Espionage Act (and the 1918 Sedition Act) made it to the Supreme Court in the years following World War I, with the court upholding several convictions under the law. The rulings during this period established early concepts such as allowing the government more latitude during wartime to punish speech that creates a "clear and present danger."

• Abrams v. United States (1919)

  In Abrams v. U.S., the Supreme Court in 1919 upheld the convictions of several individuals under the 1918 Sedition Act for distributing leaflets opposed to U.S...

• Debs v. United States (1919)

  In Debs v. United States (1919), a low point in the protection of free speech during wartime, the Court sustained a socialist leader's conviction under the...

• Dennis v. United States (1951)

  Dennis v. United States (1951) applied the First Amendment clear and present danger test to uphold the convictions of U.S.-based communists for their political...

• Frohwerk v. United States (1919)

  Frohwerk v. United States (1919) upheld a conviction for an article criticizing World War I while also affirming that First Amendment rights do not disappear...

• Gilbert v. Minnesota (1920)

  In Gilbert v. Minnesota, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Joseph Gilbert for criticizing conscription and U.S. participation in World War I...

• Hartzel v. United States (1944)

  Hartzel v. United States (1944) overturned a conviction under the Espionage Act of 1917, shifting toward tolerance of First Amendment speech criticizing the war...

• Pierce v. United States (1920)

  Pierce v. United States (1920), the last ruling regarding the criminal sections of the Espionage Act, represented another setback for civil liberties in the...

• Schaefer v. United States (1920)

  Schaefer v. United States (1920), which upheld convictions for reports hindering the war effort, was representative of setbacks to First Amendment freedoms...

• Schenck v. United States (1919)

  Schenck v. United States (1919) demonstrated the limits to the First Amendment during wartime and affirmed the conviction of Charles Schenck for violating the...

• Sugarman v. United States (1919)

  Sugarman v. United States (1919) upheld a conviction under the Espionage Act against a challenge that the judge had not given instructions about First Amendment...

• United States ex rel. Milwaukee Social Democratic Publishing Co. v. Burleson (1921)

  Milwaukee Social Democratic Publishing Co. v. Burleson (1921) denied mailing privileges to a socialist newspaper. Dissenters said the decision violated the...

• United States v. Morison (4th Cir.) (1988)

  United States v. Morison (4th Cir. 1988) upheld the conviction of a Navy employee who had leaked top secret photos. Judges ruled the leak was not protected by...