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Guilty or Not Guilty?
You will be presented with court cases where the defendants are accused of violating the Espionage and Sedition Acts. 

Work with your group to
determine whether they are
guilty or not guilty. Be
prepared to explain
your reasoning.
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Espionage & Sedition Act Cases

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Transcript

You will be presented with court cases where the defendants are accused of violating the Espionage and Sedition Acts. Work with your group to determine whether they are guilty or not guilty. Be prepared to explain your reasoning.

Guilty or Not Guilty?

Click the Gavel to proceed!

Click each document to read about each case. Use your knowledge of the Espionage & Sedition Acts to determine whether or not each case was Guilty or Not Guilty!Need help? Click the Spy.

US v. Spirit of ’76 A Hollywood movie producer issued a film, The Spirit of 76, which portrayed some scenes in which British soldiers committed some atrocities. Claiming that the film questioned the faith of our ally, Great Britain, the prosecution argued that the war effort demanded total Allied support. Guilty or Not Guilty? If Guilty, which act do you think they violated? If Guilty, what do you think their sentencing and/or fine will be?

US v. Debs An American Socialist leader stood on a street corner in Cincinnati, Ohio and told a crowd of passers-by that the draft was wrong, that the European War was not America’s fight, and that the U.S. should withdraw its troops immediately. The prosecution contended that these words were inflammatory and could hinder the recruitment of soldiers by the Selective Service Administration Guilty or Not Guilty? If Guilty, which act do you think they violated? If Guilty, what do you think their sentencing and/or fine will be?

Schenck v. US An American Socialist, feeling that American involvement in World War I was an attempt to bolster the capitalist system, mailed circulars to men eligible for the draft, stating that being conscripted against one’s will was unconstitutional and should be resisted. The prosecution argued that this interfered with the government’s right to raise an army in time of war. Guilty or Not Guilty? If Guilty, which act do you think they violated? If Guilty, what do you think their sentencing and/or fine will be?

Abrams v. US Several men, concerned about America’s involvement in the unfolding Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, dropped some leaflets from a window to pedestrians below. The leaflets urged that American workers go on strike to protest America’s involvement in another nation’s civil war. The prosecution argued that while the leaflets made no statement about the U.S.’s role in World War or its allies, a strike might hamper war production and thus their actions were illegal. Guilty or Not Guilty? If Guilty, which act do you think they violated? If Guilty, what do you think their sentencing and/or fine will be?

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