If you're anything like me and most people I know, you cherish your ability to disagree with politicians and laws enacted by your state legislature and Congress. It might not be a daily occurrence, but you value your freedom to express your discontent. To be unable to speak out about how you feel seems rather unpatriotic. However, in February of 1918, the governor of Montana called for a special session of Montana's legislature. Out of that special session emerged what became known as the Sedition Act.
The Montana Sedition Act was passed one hundred years ago on February 22, 1918. It stated, “Whenever the United States shall be engaged in war, any person or persons who shall utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, violent, scurrilous, contemptuous, slurring or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the constitution of the United States, or the soldiers or sailors of the United States, or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the army or navy of the United States or shall utter, print, write or publish any language calculated to incite or inflame resistance to any duly constituted Federal or State authority in connection with the prosecution of the War shall be guilty of sedition.”
In laymen's terms, that meant that if you said or wrote anything negative about the federal government, the war effort, the army, the Red Cross, the flag, etc, you could be considered guilty of sedition. That means no anti-war protest. No cartoons in a newspaper criticizing the government. No op-ed pieces in the newspaper. No questioning if the rationing made sense.
If you were found guilty, you could spend up to 20 years in jail and face a fine of up to $20,000 (over $200,000 in today's money).In Montana, 79 people were convicted of sedition. The effect of a conviction was far-reaching. One man, with a large family, was convicted and sent to jail. His wife, unable to raise their children and run the farm, lost the farm and sent the majority of the children to an orphanage. They never reunited as a family again.
Montana's law became the nation's law after it was passed by Congress in May of 1918 as an amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917. Thankfully, the Sedition Act was repealed after the War ended. However, those who had suffered most failed to regain their standing in their communities. For me, the Sedition Act remains a chilling reminder of what can happen when fear is allowed to rule.
If you'd like to learn more about this Act:
