ipl-logo

Should The Government Take Away Constitutional Rights During Times Of War

715 Words3 Pages

American History Final Essay
In the Bill of Rights, there has been ten amendments passed on September 25th, 1791. The big question being asked in this paper is, is the government justified in taking away Constitutional Rights during times of war? In the past, the government has taken away our Constitutional Rights during times of war, so I think that yes, the government is justified in taking away Constitutional Rights during times of war. I think they are justified in taking away our rights because the government needs to help keep us safe, to make sure the government is not talked badly about, and by keeping English the only language you can speak during times of war.
The government is justified in taking away Constitutional Rights during times of war because they need to keep us safe, so to be able to, the U.S. government needs to take away parts of our rights. The Patriot Act says, “The United States government did this in response to the need for increased security following terrorist attacks.” The purpose is to punish the terrorist acts in the United States and everywhere else, to increase …show more content…

In the Sedition Act, it says that whoever the person is, when the United States is at war, prints, says, writes or publishes any insulting, disloyal, disrespectful, or abusive language about our government, will be punished by a fine of no more than ten thousand dollars or imprisonment for no more than twenty years or possibly both. In the World War 1 Anti-Draft Protests, Eugene V. Debs was talking badly about the government, saying that they are soon-to-be murderers. He also said that the government is being waged to make the world safe for democracy which is a violation of the Sedition Act. Debs was talking bad about the government to make them look like they do not actually do their

Show More
Related
131 Words | 1 Pages

Between the creation of the Constitution and the Civil War, there was a period of implementation . In this period the Bill of Rights were ratified. During the years that followed and before the Civil War, there were a variety of “constitutional” violations and interpretations. For example, we read of John Adams who created a military without a Congressional declaration of war.

Read More
1457 Words | 6 Pages

It seems, however, that war time definitely results in a spike of these infringements due to the fear of a lack of war effort. Speech is not the only right that is guaranteed by the Constitution and is constantly being limited by new laws and executive actions. Harry Truman imposes on steelworker’s right to strike in 1951, when Truman takes and operates the steel mills under the federal government (23-24). This was, once again, during a war, Page "2 and Harry Truman was afraid that the lack of steel being produced would damage the war effort in Korea (24). Overall, the book continuously offers example after example showing how rights

Read More
688 Words | 3 Pages

that there exist other “legitimate” vehicles of change, and that allowing such actions in a time of war would be tantamount to declaring the constitution a “suicide pact”. Eugene Debs, political leader of the Socialist Party of America and candidate for the American Presidency, faced similar restrictions on his free speech during wartime. Presenting an anti-war speech protesting the United States involvement in World War I, Debs was arrested under the Espionage act of 1917 and ultimately convicted, for openly protesting against the war. The State’s case against Debs was founded on a document written by Debs called the Anti-War Proclamation and Program, apparently illustrating that Debs' original intent was in fact to openly protest US involvement

Read More
662 Words | 3 Pages

Despite this blatant disregard for rights President Wilson decided to push even further and create the Espionage Act. This law (if broken) would result in a $10,000 fine and 10 years imprisonment. Despite this debilitating act it gave way to the ciliv liberties case, US v. Charles Schenck. In this case Schenck was convicted for printing pamphlets that encouraged Americans to resist the draft. Unfortunately for him, the Supreme Court upheld this decision.

Read More
839 Words | 4 Pages

In result, over two thousand civilians were arrested for ten to twenty years for rebelling against the war effort or the draft with fines up to ten thousand dollars. When the detained citizens requested to have a court ruling the courts refused. Additionally the Sedition Acts, amendments to the Espionage Act, were enacted on May 16, 1918 and brought more restrictions to citizens’ civil liberties. It made it illegal to write or speak anything of American involvement in the war, it also made it a federal offense to use profane, disloyal, scurrilous, or abusive language about the Constitution, the government, the US flag, or the American uniform. To sum it up, the Espionage and Sedition

Read More
813 Words | 4 Pages

Laws passed by the government (notably the Sedition Act) made it illegal for all citizens to express or say anything that could harm or thwart America’s total war effort. Eugene Debs, a notable member of the Socialist Party was sent to prison for ten years for urging people to resist the war draft in his speeches. Espionage Act of 1917 prohibited attempts at interfering with the military in any way or supporting U.S. enemies during the war. The Sedition Act of 1918 stated that expressing a negative opinion of the government or the war was a high offense. With such acts, people were not allowed to support opposing war efforts.

Read More
869 Words | 4 Pages

The Bill of Rights was written in 1791 and was created by James Madison and guaranteed specific rights, freedoms, limitations for the states, the people, and the government. Rights and freedoms presented in the Bill of Rights are “Freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and petition; Right to a speedy trial; Right to a trial by jury; Other powers remain with the people” (Document 8). The Bill of Rights showed a positive change in rights for Americans because it granted rights and freedoms, which set up a guideline for the United States. These rights spread more equality between the government and the people. Americans gained wanted rights that were not solidified prior to the Bill of Rights and .

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

Many of these rights written in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights have been ignored by today’s Federal Government. One example of this is the USA Patriot Act. After the 9/11 Terror Attacks,

Read More
1870 Words | 8 Pages

In 1798, President John Adams, the second President of the United States, in response of the public reaction of the Quasi War with France, he enacted the Alien and Sedition Act, and the restriction of civil liberties during wartime has operated. Civil liberties are laws that grant individual rights such as Bill of Rights to American citizens. The scope of the restrictions is mainly about the freedom of actions and speeches. After the restriction was passed, a debate between whether or not U.S. government should restrict civil liberties of citizens during the wartime arose. Should we agree the government to restrict our civil liberties during the war?

Read More
821 Words | 4 Pages

This is arguable because the act doesn’t restrict freedom, it protects liberties. The Patriot Act is justified by the 9/11 attacks because it has helped put dozens of terrorism attempts in the ground, it has broken down communication barriers that were built between the branches of the government, and overall has heightened every

Read More
641 Words | 3 Pages

Even though this Act was passed in hopes of making America safer, it should be outlawed. The U.S. Patriot Act should not be supported because it affects all American citizens, it has not done much to protect citizens, and it does not stop terrorist attacks. The Patriot Act affects all citizen with any type of technology. Even though, it was passed in order to find terrorists, and stop them before they did anything.

Read More
546 Words | 3 Pages

In today’s era, the Constitution holds most controversial rights that determines our history. The United States Constitution has provided powerful words, such as “We the People” and “all men are created equal” done with careful evaluation by the Founders, including the Bill of Rights that holds 10 amendments under the Constitution regarding a balance between an individual and the government; however, the document defines the American political system and government relations between citizens and its government

Read More
792 Words | 4 Pages

The Patriot Act does not abide by the constitution because of the freedoms it gives the government, it allows the U.S to search through the information of innocent Americans without probable cause which is against the law. The problem lies in the principles of the Patriot Act, how the government has interpreted the bill, invasion of the American people’s privacy, and that the bill arguably breaches the fourth amendment of the constitution. The government supposedly passed bills like the Patriot Act to protect, but the way the bill is being interpreted it is just giving the government authority to spy on the everyday innocent Americans. The Act does not intercept or obstruct potential acts of

Read More
364 Words | 2 Pages

Did you know that the Bill of Rights gave all of us the freedoms that we have today? It gave us our 10 basic rights when it became part of the Constitution in 1791. It was written to show every citizen’s rights. The Bill of Rights being added to the Constitution have affected us today. The first way it has affected everybody today is the freedom of speech.

Read More
793 Words | 4 Pages

As Americans, we are provided with certain freedoms that no other countries have. These freedoms are listed in the Bill of Rights located in the Constitution signed by James Madison in 1787. These amendments play important roles in our society and personal lives. They can be summed up with the unalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Adding the Bill of Rights to the Constitution, was not only a celebration for those who yearned for individual liberty, but it was also meant to be more than just a “parchment barrier;” however, for that to happen citizens must understand the content and the meaning of the Bill of Rights.

Read More

More about Should The Government Take Away Constitutional Rights During Times Of War

Related Topics

Open Document