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 epidemic reached its zenith in the years 1348 to 1350, though the disease never vanished entirely. It is widely believed that the cause of the Black Death was bubonic plague, an infectious and fatal illness spread by rodents and the fleas infesting them.
The Black Death was an epidemic outbreak of bubonic plague in Europe around 1348 that killed between one-third and two-thirds of the population in less than five years. The epidemic spanned from China to England to North Africa, transmitted along the Silk Road and other trade routes. Worldwide, the plague may have killed one-quarter of all people. Repeated outbreaks continued in Europe into the 18th century. Some historians believe the drastic reduction in population hurried the end of feudalism by raising the value of labor and the power of workers, as seen in incidents like the 1381 Peasants Revolt in England.