By Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D., Anthropology, UCLA CONGRESS CRIMINALIZED DISSENT VIA SEDITION AND ESPIONAGE ACTS In 1917–1918, lawmakers criminalized honest speech against war policy. Officials arrested critics. Judges handed down harsh sentences. Postal authorities blocked anti-war newspapers. The First Amendment sat ignored while elected leaders punished people of conscience. Howard Zinn wrote: “During war, government …









