Fighting a modern war with the slogan “Make the world safe for democracy” would prove to be a double-edged sword for President Woodrow Wilson and the U. S. government. On April 16, 1917, just 10 days after the declaration of war on Germany, Wilson issued a proclamation to the American people, “to call especial attention to the following provisions of the Constitution and the laws of the United States:

“Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them or in adhering to their enemies,…