Topics: Laws and Proposed Laws, 1900-1950

• Communications Act of 1934 (1934)

  The Communications Act of 1934 regulated television and radio. Broadcasters have public obligations, which serve as a limit on their First Amendment rights...

• Criminal Syndicalism Laws

  Thousands of Americans were arrested under criminal syndicalism laws in the late 1910s and early 1920s despite being in direct opposition to the First Amendment...

• Equal Time Rule

  The federal equal time rule requires broadcasters to treat political candidates equally in terms of air time. Some see the rule as a violation of First...

• Espionage Act of 1917 (1917)

  The Espionage Act of 1917, passed two months after the U.S. entered World War I, criminalized the release of information that could hurt national security and...

• Fairness Doctrine

  The fairness doctrine attempted to ensure that broadcast coverage of controversial issues was fair. Many journalists opposed the policy as a violation of the...

• McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 (1950)

  The McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 required Communist organizations to register with the government, posing a risk to First Amendment freedoms of...

• National Anthem, Government Regulation

  Some states as late as the 1940s prohibited musical desecration or alteration of "The Star-Spangled Banner" national anthem. Such laws would be considered...

• Sedition Act of 1918 (1918)

  The Sedition Act of 1918 curtailed the free-speech rights of U.S. citizens during World War I. The law overstepped the bounds of First Amendment freedoms...

• Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950 (1950)
• Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 (1947)

  The Taft-Hartley Act addressed appropriate forms of symbolic speech, as well as acceptable and unacceptable regulation of the right to association granted in...

• Tillman Act of 1907 (1907)

  The Tillman Act of 1907, the first federal effort to regulate campaign finance in U.S. elections, banned corporations from expending treasury money to influence...

• Wireless Ship Act of 1910 (1910)

  The Wireless Ship Act of 1910 was the United States' first effort to regulate radio traffic, but the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 revealed shortcomings in the...