The Espionage Act was passed in 1917 and enforced by A. Mitchell Palmer, the then US attorney general under President Woodrow Wilson. It stated that it was a crime for any person to convey information intended to interfere with the US armed forces prosecution of the war effort or to support the success of America's foes (History.com, 2018). Consequently, anyone found guilty of such activities would be subject to a fine of $10,000 and a prison sentence of 20 years (History.com, 2018). The Sedition Act was passed the following year after the Espionage Act. It imposed similarly harsh penalties on anyone found guilty of making false statements that interfered with the prosecution of the war; insulting or abusing the US government, the flag, the constitution or the military; agitating against the production of necessary war materials; or advocating, teaching or defending any of these acts.
There are five main principles to the American democracy: the rule of law, consent of the government, limited government, representative government, and individual rights. From the acts above, some of these principles were hindered. The Congress passed the bill that was somehow unpopular to most of the American masses hence the consent of government principle was broken. The Acts also made it possible for the government to shape public opinion, therefore, went beyond the power given to it by the people thus breaking the limited government principle. Lastly, the individual rights of the people were violated by the very same government that was supposed to protect these rights. People had to forfeit some of their rights to abide by the Acts. For example, freedom of speech was not upheld since anything one said was subject to scrutiny.
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References
History.com. (2018). U.S. Congress passes Espionage Act . Retrieved from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-congress-passes-espionage-act
