Starting research on my third novel, set just before and during World War I, I discover the Espionage Act of 1917 established $10,000 fines and/or 20 year prison sentences for criticizing or saying or writing anything “disloyal, profane, scurrilous or abusive” about:
The YMCA or the Red Cross
The government
The Constitution
The flag
Uniforms of the U.S. or the Allies
The war effort in general
Sale of war bonds
Academics and historians were subject to the same fines and jail terms for suggesting any view of history which did not make Germany 100% responsible for the war. And don’t say sauerkraut. It was “liberty cabbage.” Don’t forget.
Pamela Schoenewaldt, historical novels of immigration and the search for self in new worlds: WHEN WE WERE STRANGERS, SWIMMING IN THE MOON, and UNDER THE SAME BLUE SKY (all HarperCollins).
pamelaschoenewaldt.com 
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