The Espionage Act of 1917 was passed with the purpose to prohibit any interference with military operations (Links to an external site.) or recruitment (Links to an external site.), to prevent insubordination in the military, and to prevent the support of the United States enemies during wartime. Punishments under this law include jail and death.
The Sedition Act of 1918 was an extension of the Espionage Act of 1917. This extension was made to cover a broader range of offenses, mostly about speech and the expression of opinions that make the government or the war effort look bad. The
Sedition Act also prohibited interference with the sale of government bonds. The Sedition Act of 1918 stated that people couldn't say negative things about the government or the war. A normal punishment under this law was imprisonment of 5-20 years.