The Balance of Freedom of Expression and Sedition Essay

The Balance of Freedom of Expression and Sedition - Essay Example The paper tells that many people have lived and died expressing what they believed was a truth. Such freedom of expression may have been enjoyed and curtailed over history.   If the truth impinged on sensitive issues such as exposing ugly truths about the government and its actions against its people, then there are ways to curtail it. The First Amendment to the first US Constitution, which was known as the Articles of Confederation, included freedom of expression in the bill of rights. Such freedom has been interpreted in a multitude of ways. Some have used it to their advantage and interpreted it as the right to discuss the government, the right to criticize the government, the right to oppose the government, the right to advocate the change of the government, etc., which puts the government in a bad light and induce fear and doubt in the citizenry. Thus, government efforts to control such acts prompted the creation of more laws to protect its own image and prevent mass hysteria. During the war, the Espionage Act was enacted into law on June 15, 1917. Title I, section 3 limited the freedom of expression during wartime by declaring it unlawful to â€Å"make false statements that interfered with the military; to attempt to cause "insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty" in the military; or to obstruct the military recruiting or enlistment services†. Relevant to the press in this act is Title XII which gives permission to the postmaster general to declare unmailable any printed material which is deemed violating the law. One way to curb press freedom was the rule for newspapers and periodicals to appear at regularly stated intervals to qualify for a second-class mailing permit, which is generally cheaper. If the postmaster general withheld just one issue from the mail, a second-class permit could be revoked indefinitely, resulting in the publication to come out irregularly. Revocation of the second-class permit makes it unprofitable to p ublish because the alternatives of first-class and third-class postal rates were much higher.