ABSTRACT
The Constitution created a government for the United States, specified the affairs that should be within its jurisdiction, and gave it power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution any and all of the powers vested in this new government or any part of it. What to do about Communists, subversion, and overthrow of government by force has been the central point of bitter controversy. The name calling and the acts of violence were directed toward the national government; they arose out of apprehension that Congress might declare war against the country one admired and out of the wish to force the nation into war with the country one despised. The relation of the Sedition Act to the constitutional guarantee of free speech and press becomes evident when turning attention to the provision making it illegal for anyone to "counsel, advise, or attempt to procure" an insurrection, riot, or unlawful assembly.
