Dissidents like Eugene V. Debs were very negatively
impacted by World War I. The wave of patriotism that swept the country during the war
led to a great deal of intolerance of people who held attitudes that were at all
different from those of the majority.
During WWI, the US
government launched a big push to promote patriotism and discourage dissent. For
example, the Sedition Act of 1918 made it illegal to use "disloyal" language when
talking about the government, the flag, or the armed forces. Debs himself was sentenced
to 10 years in prison for violating this law by opposing the draft. Hundreds of other
dissidents were charged under this law as well.
In this
way, WWI had a very negative impact on dissidents.
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