Dictionary:

sedition

  (sĭ-dĭsh'ən)

1. Conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of a state.
2. Insurrection; rebellion.

[Middle English sedicioun, violent party strife, from Old French sedition, from Latin sēditiō, sēditiōn- : sēd-, sē-, apart + itiō, act of going (from itus, past participle of īre, to go).]

ADVERTISEMENT

noun

1. Organized opposition intended to change or overthrow existing authority: insurgence, insurgency, insurrection, mutiny, rebellion, revolt, revolution, uprising. See resist/yield.
2. Willful violation of allegiance to one's country: seditiousness, traitorousness, treason. See trust/distrust.

n.conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

For more information on sedition, visit Britannica.com.

A revolt or an incitement to revolt against established authority, usually in the form of treason or defamation against government.

Sedition is the crime of revolting or inciting revolt against government. However, because of the broad protection of free speech under the First Amendment, prosecutions for sedition are rare. Nevertheless, sedition remains a crime in the United States under 18 U.S.C.A. § 2384 (1948), a federal statute that punishes seditious conspiracy, and 18 U.S.C.A. § 2385 (1948), which outlaws advocating the overthrow of the federal government by force. Generally, a person may be punished for sedition only when he or she makes statements that create a clear and present danger to rights that the government may lawfully protect (Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S. Ct. 247, 63 L. Ed. 470 [1919]).

The crime of seditious conspiracy is committed when two or more persons in any state or U.S. territory conspire to levy war against the U.S. government. A person commits the crime of advocating the violent overthrow of the federal government when she willfully advocates or teaches the overthrow of the government by force, publishes material that advocates the overthrow of the government by force, or organizes persons to overthrow the government by force. A person found guilty of seditious conspiracy or advocating the overthrow of the government may be fined and sentenced to up to twenty years in prison. States also maintain laws that punish similar advocacy and conspiracy against the state government.

Governments have made sedition illegal since time immemorial. The precise acts that constitute sedition have varied. In the United States, Congress in the late eighteenth century believed that government should be protected from "false, scandalous and malicious" criticisms. Toward this end, Congress passed the Sedition Act of 1798, which authorized the criminal prosecution of persons who wrote or spoke falsehoods about the government, Congress, the president, or the vice president. The act was to expire with the term of President John Adams.

The Sedition Act failed miserably. Thomas Jefferson opposed the act, and after he was narrowly elected president in 1800, public opposition to the act grew. The act expired in 1801, but not before it was used by President Adams to prosecute numerous public supporters of Jefferson, his challenger in the presidential election of 1800. One writer, Matthew Lyon, a congressman from Vermont, was found guilty of seditious libel for stating, in part, that he would not be the "humble advocate" of the Adams administration when he saw "every consideration of the public welfare swallowed up in a continual grasp for power, in an unbounded thirst for ridiculous pomp, foolish adulation, and selfish avarice" (Lyon's Case, 15 F. Cas. 1183 [D. Vermont 1798] [No. 8646]). Vermont voters reelected Lyon while he was in jail. Jefferson, after winning the election and assuming office, pardoned all persons convicted under the act.

In the 1820s and 1830s, as the movement to abolish slavery grew in size and force in the South, Southern states began to enact seditious libel laws. Most of these laws were used to prosecute persons critical of slavery, and they were abolished after the Civil War. The federal government was no less defensive; Congress enacted seditious conspiracy laws before the Civil War aimed at persons advocating secession from the United States. These laws were the precursors to the present-day federal seditious conspiracy statute.

In the late nineteenth century, Congress and states began to enact new limits on speech, most notably statutes prohibiting obscenity. At the outset of World War I, Congress passed legislation designed to suppress antiwar speech. The Espionage Act of 1917 (ch. 30, tit. 1, § 3, 40 Stat. 219), as amended by ch. 75, § 1, 40 Stat 553, put a number of pacificists into prison. Socialist leader Eugene V. Debs was convicted for making an antiwar speech in Canton, Ohio (Debs v. United States, 249 U.S. 211, 39 S. Ct. 252, 63 L. Ed. 566 [1919]). Charles T. Schenck and Elizabeth Baer were convicted for circulating to military recruits a leaflet that advocated opposition to the draft and suggested that the draft violated the Thirteenth Amendment's ban on involuntary servitude (Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S. Ct. 247, 63 L. Ed. 470 [1919]).

The U.S. Supreme Court did little to protect the right to criticize the government until after 1927. That year, Justice Louis D. Brandeis wrote an influential concurring opinion in Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357, 47 S. Ct. 641, 71 L. Ed. 1095 (1927), that was to guide First Amendment jurisprudence for years to come. In Whitney the High Court upheld the convictions of political activists for violation of federal anti-syndicalism laws, or laws that prohibit the teaching of crime. In his concurring opinion, Brandeis maintained that even if a person advocates violation of the law, "it is not a justification for denying free speech where the advocacy falls short of incitement and there is nothing to indicate that the advocacy would be immediately acted on." Beginning in the 1930s, the Court became more protective of political free speech rights.

Through the 1970s the High Court became more rigorous in its examination of statutes and prosecutions targeting sedition. The High Court has protected the speech of racial supremacists and separatists, labor organizers, advocates of racial integration, and opponents of the draft for the war in Vietnam. However, it has refused to declare unconstitutional all sedition statutes and prosecutions. In 1940, to silence radicals and quell Nazi or communist subversion during the burgeoning Second World War, Congress enacted the Smith Act (18 U.S.C.A. §§ 2385, 2387), which outlawed sedition and seditious conspiracy. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the act in Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494, 71 S. Ct. 857, 95 L. Ed. 1137 (1951).

Sedition prosecutions are extremely rare, but they do occur. Shortly after the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City, the federal government prosecuted Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric living in New Jersey, and nine codefendants on charges of seditious conspiracy. Rahman and the other defendants were convicted of violating the seditious conspiracy statute by engaging in an extensive plot to wage a war of terrorism against the United States. With the exception of Rahman, they all were arrested while mixing explosives in a garage in Queens, New York, on June 24, 1993.

The defendants committed no overt acts of war, but all were found to have taken substantial steps toward carrying out a plot to levy war against the United States. The government did not have sufficient evidence that Rahman participated in the actual plotting against the government or any other activities to prepare for terrorism. He was instead prosecuted for providing religious encouragement to his coconspirators. Rahman argued that he only performed the function of a cleric and advised followers about the rules of Islam. He and the others were convicted, and on January 17, 1996, Rahman was sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Michael Mukasey.

See: Cold War; Communism; Dennis v. United States; Freedom of Speech; Schenck v. United States; Socialism.

(DOD) Willfully advocating or teaching the duty or necessity of overthrowing the US government or any political subdivision by force or violence. See also counterintelligence.

Acts that incite rebellion or civil disorder against an established government.

This is about the law term. For other uses see Sedition (disambiguation)

Sedition is a term of law which refers to covert conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent (or resistance) to lawful authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel.

Because sedition is typically considered a subversive act, the overt acts that may be prosecutable under sedition laws vary from one legal code to another. Where those legal codes have a traceable history, there is also a record of the change of definition for what constituted sedition at certain points in history. This overview has served to develop a sociological definition of sedition as well, within study of persecution.

The difference between sedition and treason consists primarily in the subjective ultimate object of the violation to the public peace. Sedition does not consist of levying war against a government nor of adhering to its enemies, giving enemies aid, and giving enemies comfort. Nor does it consist, in most representative democracies, of peaceful protest against a government, nor of attempting to change the government by democratic means (such as direct democracy or constitutional convention).

Put simply, sedition is the stirring up of rebellion against the government in power. Treason is the violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or state and has to do with giving aid to enemies or levying war. Sedition is more about encouraging the people to rebel, when treason is actually betraying the country.

History

Sedition gets its modern meaning first appeared in the Elizabethan Era (c. 1590) as the "notion of inciting by words or writings disaffection towards the state or constituted authority". "Sedition complements treason and martial law: while treason controls primarily the privileged, ecclesiastical opponents, priests, and Jesuits, as well as certain commoners; and martial law frightens commoners, sedition frightens intellectuals."

Australia

Australia's sedition laws were amended in anti-terrorism legislation passed on 6 December 2005, updating definitions and increasing penalties.

In late 2006, the Howard Government proposed plans to amend Australia's Crimes Act 1914, introducing laws that mean artists and writers may be jailed for up to seven years if their work was considered seditious or inspired sedition either deliberately or accidentally.^[1]

Opponents of these laws have suggested that they could be used against legitimate dissent.

Over the past year, Australian attorney-general Philip Ruddock has rejected calls by two reports — from a Senate committee and the Australian Law Reform Commission — to limit the sedition provisions in the Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 by requiring proof of intention to cause disaffection or violence. He has also brushed aside recommendations to curtail new clauses outlawing “urging conduct” that “assists” an “organisation or country engaged in armed hostilities” against the Australian military. The new laws, inserted into the legislation last December, allow for the criminalization of basic expressions of political opposition, including supporting resistance to Australian military interventions, such as those in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Asia-Pacific region. ^[2]

Canada

During World War II former Mayor of Montreal Camillien Houde campaigned against conscription in Canada. On August 2, 1940, Houde publicly urged the men of Quebec to ignore the National Registration Act. Three days later, he was placed under arrest by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on charges of sedition. After being found guilty, he was confined in internment camps in Petawawa, Ontario and Gagetown, New Brunswick until 1944. Upon his release on August 18, 1944, he was greeted by a cheering crowd of 50,000 Montrealers and won back his job as Montreal mayor in 1944's civic election.

New Zealand

In New Zealand's first sedition trial in decades, Tim Selwyn was convicted of sedition (section 83 of the Crimes Act 1961) on 8 June 2006. He is planning to appeal.

In September 2006, the New Zealand Police laid a sedition charge against a Rotorua youth, Christopher Russell, 17, who was also charged with threatening to kill^[3]. The Police withdrew the sedition charge when Russell agreed to plead guilty on the other charge^[4].

In March 2007, Mark Paul Deason, 32, manager of a tavern near Otago University, was charged with seditious intent^[5] although he was later granted police diversion when he pleaded guilty to publishing a document which encourages public disorder^[6] Deason ran a promotion for his Tavern that offered 1 litre of beer for 1 litre petrol. At the end of the promotion, the prize would have been a couch soaked in the petrol. It is presumed the intent was for the couch to be burned — a popular university student prank. Police also applied for Deason's liquor license to be revoked.

Following a recommendation from the New Zealand Law Commission^[7], the New Zealand government announced on 7 May 2007 that the sedition law would be repealed^[8]. A bill to repeal it has since been introduced to Parliament^[9].

United States

There have been a number of attempts in the United States to regulate speech that has been deemed seditious. In 1798, President John Adams signed into law the Alien and Sedition Acts, the fourth of which, the Sedition Act or "An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes against the United States" set out punishments for publishing of up to two years' imprisonment for "opposing or resisting any law of the United States" or writing or publishing "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the President or Congress (but specifically not the Vice-President). The act was allowed to expire in 1801 after the election of Thomas Jefferson, Vice President at the time of the Act's passage.

The Espionage Act of 1917 may also be considered a sedition law of sorts, as section 3 made it a crime, punishable by 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000, to wilfully spread false news of the US military with an intent to disrupt their operations, to foment mutiny in the ranks, or obstruct recruiting. The act was amended in 1918 with the Sedition Act, which expanded the purview of the Espionage Act to any statements made criticizing the government. The act was upheld in 1919 in Schenck v. United States, but was repealed largely in 1921, leaving mostly laws forbidding espionage and allowing military censorship of sensitive material.

In 1940, the Alien Registration Act or Smith Act was passed, which made it a crime to advocate or teach the desirability of overthrowing the United States Government, or to be a member of any organization which does the same. It was often used against Communist organizations. The act was invoked in three major trials, one of the Socialist Worker's Party in Minneapolis in 1941, resulting in 23 convictions, and again in 1944 in what became known as "The Great Sedition Trial", of pro-Nazi figures which ended in a mistrial. A series of trials of 140 leaders of the Communist Party USA was also predicated upon the Smith Act beginning in 1949, and lasting until 1957. Although the Supreme Court upheld the convictions of 11 CPUSA leaders in 1951, the court reversed itself in 1957 in Yates v. New York by ruling that teaching an ideal, no matter how inimical that onlookers may view it to the United States, does not equal advocating or planning its implementation.

Although unused since at least 1961, the Smith Act remains US law.

Laura Berg, a nurse at a Dept of Veterans' Affairs hospital in New Mexico was investigated for sedition in September 2005^[10] after writing a letter^{[11], [12]} to the editor of a local newspaper, criticizing the government. Ms Berg is now being represented by the ACLU^[13].

See also

• Seditious libel
• Mutiny
• Sedition Act
• Australian sedition law
• Free speech

Notes and references

Wikinews has related news:

Auckland man convicted of sedition

• Breight, Curtis, C. Surveillance, militarism and drama in the Elizabethan Era, Macmillian 1996: London.
• A synopsis of the Australian sedition lawsPDF

1. ^ Satire used to counter new sedition laws, ABC's Lateline transcript, October 24 2006
2. ^ Australia’s new Sedition Laws, Mike Head, World Socialist Web Site, 27 October 2006
3. ^ Law advice body wants to scrap crime of sedition, New Zealand Herald, October 17 2006
4. ^ Sedition by Example XXII: Christopher Russell, No Right Turn weblog, February 28, 2007
5. ^ Police move to cancel 'beer-for-petrol' publican's licence, Infonews.co.nz, 11 April 2007
6. ^ Diversion over petrol-soaked couch promo, Crime.co.nz, 29 March 2007
7. ^ Law Commission recommends abolition of seditious offencesPDF (68.8 KiB), New Zealand Law Commission, 5 April 2007
8. ^ "Sedition law to be repealed", Radio New Zealand, 2007-05-07. Retrieved on 2007-05-05. 
9. ^ "Government moves to repeal sedition laws", Scoop.co.nz, 2007-06-08. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
10. ^ VA nurse's letter to newspaper prompts sedition probe, Associated Press, published on First Amendment Center, February 8 2006
11. ^ Big Brother is Watching: A letter printed in the Alibi leads to the investigation of a local VA nurse for "sedition", Alibi.com, February 9 – February 15, 2006
12. ^ Speaking Truth to Power: An interview with Laura Berg, Alibi.com, March 9 – March 15, 2006
13. ^ ACLU of New Mexico defends VA employee accused of ‘Sedition’ over criticism of Bush Administration, ACLU, January 31 2006

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - tilskyndelse til oprør

Nederlands (Dutch)
opruiing

Français (French)
n. - sédition

Deutsch (German)
n. - Aufruhr

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - εξέγερση, στάση, προτροπή σε εξέγερση

Italiano (Italian)
sedizione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - sedição (f), rebelião (f)

Русский (Russian)
подстрекательство к бунту, восстание

Español (Spanish)
n. - sedición

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - upproriskhet, uppvigling, upprorsanda

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
煽动骚乱, 骚动, 妨害治安

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 煽動騷亂, 騷動, 妨害治安

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 선동, 치안방해, 폭동 교사 행위

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 煽動

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تحريض على ألفتنه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮המרדה, הסתה, חרחור ריב, תסיסה נגד סמכות המדינה, שיסוי‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.