Inter Alma Silent Leges
" In time of war, the laws are silent"Latin maxim
Suspension of Civil Liberties during Wartime
During World War II, "all persons of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast were expelled from their homes and confined in inland detention camps. People of Japanese descent were the only group singled out for " mass incarceration." The Germans and Italian nationals, and American citizens of German and Italian descent were not imprisoned "en masse" even though the U.S. was also at war with these Axis powers.
Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 President John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Act into law in 1798. The Act consisted of four laws passed by the Congress as America prepared for war with France. This law increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from five to fourteen years, and authorized the President to imprison or deport aliens considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" |
"The President certainly does not faithfully execute the laws, if he takes upon himself legislative power, by suspending the writ of habeas corpus, and the judicial power also, by arresting and imprisoning a person without due process of law." -Ex Parte Merryman by Chief Justice Rodger B. Taney, Maryland Circuit Court, 1861
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Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus
On September 24, 1982, President Lincoln had issued a proclamation suspending the writ of habeas corpus. The writ of habeas corpus protects American's civil liberties by requiring the government to bring a prisoner before a judge to prove that there is a just cause for holding the prisoner. According to a provision in the Constitution, however, Lincoln suspended this right during the war in order to apprehend Confederate spies and sympathizers who performed acts of disloyalty against the government. President Lincoln ordered that suspected political criminals be tried before military tribunals. Lincoln's action meant that individuals could be arrested and held without formal charges being lodged against them. It was later ruled that Lincoln's order violated the U.S. Constitution, which gave only Congress the power to suspend habeas corpus. |
Palmer Raids
Spurred by numerous bombings and strikes, Attorney General Alexander Palmer sets about a campaign to crush radical “Reds” in the United States. Using legally questionable force and tactics, thousands of suspected anarchists and communists were arrested and hundreds deported during the “Palmer Raids.” The raids and arrests occurred in November 1919 and January 1920. On May 28, 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was formed at this time, published a Report of the Illegal Practices of the United States Department of Justice which carefully documented the Justice Department's unlawful activities in arresting suspected radicals, illegal entrapment, and unlawful detention. |
Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House of Un-American Activities Committee
First created in 1938, and spurred on by Cold War fears, the U.S. House of Representatives created and charged a committee to investigate subversive and Communist activities of private citizens, as well as those employed in the public sector. |
September 11th, 2001: Terrorist Attack in NYCThe Japanese internment injustices paralleled the US government's injustices towards Middle Eastern "terrorist suspects" following 9/11. These "suspects" were imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay without a trial and were imprisoned indefinitely. The injustices of the Japanese American internment were repeated during the Guantanamo Bay imprisonment.
"We don't give in to terrorists. We will not rest until they are found and defeated." -Senator Tim Martin
"I think what's going on in Guantanamo Bay and other places is a disgrace to the U.S.A. I wouldn't say it's the cause of terrorism, but it has given impetus and excuses to potential terrorists to lash out at our country and justify their despicable acts." - President Ronald Reagan
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