I recently saw for the first time a PBS documentary on Woodrow Wilson. I have always thought of him as one of the greatest Democratic Presidents. I was fairly shocked at what was in the film.
Espionage Act ?
American Protective League (APL)?
The Sedition Bill of 1918?
Committee on Public Information (CPI) -- a propaganda ministry ?
If you lived in his time, what would be your reactions?
Perhaps Wilson's greatest fear was the American public, or rather the 15 million immigrants that flooded into the United States begin 1900 and 1915. The single largest ethnic group in the United States was German-American. Then there were the Irish-Americans -- with the Irish Republican Army launching an uprising against British rule on Easter, 1916. Wilson feared that these two groups would not be willing to take up the fight. In fact, Wilson proclaimed, "Any man who caries a hyphen around with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of the republic."
So Wilson developed a hard line designed to intimidate those reluctant to support his war and to crush those who would not support the war effort. Wilson warned Congress, "There are citizens of the United States, I blush to admit, . . . who have poured the poison of disloyalty into the very arteries of our national life . . . . Such creatures of passion, disloyalty, and anarchy must be crushed out."
Wilson's government began to compel conformity, controlling speech in ways that had never been known before. Wilson pushed the Espionage Act through Congress in 1917, making it a crime "to willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States," or to "willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service" of the United States." It became a crime to "utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag." The act also targeted those who might "urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of the production in this country of any thing or things necessary or essential to the conduct of the war." In fact, the Espionage Act even made it illegal to teach, suggest, defend, or advocate any criticism of the government. The bill gave the Postmaster the right to refuse delivery of any periodical he deemed unpatriotic or critical of the administration. The Postmaster soon stopped delivery of virtually all publications and any foreign-language publication that hinted of dissent.
Even American Congressmen were not immune from the hysteria brought about by Wilson's attack of free speech. Progressive Republican Senator Robert La Follette of Wisconsin was one of six Senators to vote against Wilson's declaration of war. One of his Senate colleagues called La Follette "a pusillanimous, degenerate coward" and a hostile press distorted La Follette's position, making it seem that he supported the sinking of the Lusitania. His state legislature condemned him for treason and in the Senate members introduced resolutions calling for his expulsion. On October 6, 1917, La Lollette delivered a stirring defense of free speech -- even in times of war. In response, the Senate launched an investigation of possible treasonable conduct.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation created a volunteer group, called the American Protective League (APL) and made it an adjunct of the Justice Department. The APL was authorized to carry badges identifying them as "Secret Service" and within a year 200,000 APL members flooded the country, targeting any dissent.
This remarkable act made it virtually illegal to criticize the war or the government in any way. As a result, the Civil Liberties Bureau, a forerunner of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was formed in 1918 to oppose this legislation and the corrupting influence it had on American freedoms (the ACLU was formed in 1920). But Congress went even further -- between 1919 and 1920, more than 70 measures aimed at restricting, among other activities, sedition, the display of the Bolshevik flag, or the dissemination of seditious material in the mail. The Sedition Bill of 1918 was introduced to Congress at the urging of Wilson's U.S. Attorney General, A. Mitchel Palmer. This legislation made it illegal to attempt to change the government or laws of the United States.
Wilson hired a publicist, George Creek, to head the "Committee on Public Information" (CPI) -- a propaganda ministry with the sole purpose of "selling the war." CPI produced films, pamphlets, curriculum guides -- all designed to "paint Germany in a bad light." Wilson's propaganda ministry encouraged businesses to spy on their employees, parents to spy on their children, and neighbors to spy on neighbors. Most importantly, the CPI urged Americans to report "disloyal" pro-German sentiments. Creel himself stated that he demanded, "100% Americanism." The teaching of German was banned in schools; German folksongs, such as "Oh Tannenbaum" were torn from children's songbooks; German street names were changed; and sauerkraut was renamed "victory cabbage." Posters were produced urging Americans to report anyone "who spreads pessimistic stories, divulges -- or seeks -- confidential military information, cries for peace, or belittles our effort to win the war."
http://www.chicora.org/woodrow_wilson.htm
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