Claim 116

By 1918 the Wilson administration's Post Office, led by Postmaster General Albert Burleson and Attorney General Thomas Gregory, had denied mailing privileges to 74 newspapers under the Espionage Act.

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 1 source.

Statement: By 1918 the Wilson administration's Post Office, led by Postmaster General Albert Burleson and Attorney General Thomas Gregory, had denied mailing privileges to 74 newspapers under the Espionage Act.
Field: effect_on_reporting
Value: 74 newspapers denied mailing privileges by 1918
About: incident 1917-us-espionage-act-bars-the-masses-from-the-mail
Source: Espionage Act of 1917
Publisher: The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University
Method: outlet report
Checked: 2026-09-22
Confidence: medium
Status: current

Quotation from the source

By 1918, in actions that seriously threatened First Amendment freedoms and that likely would not be upheld today, 74 newspapers had been denied mailing privileges.