World War I and the Origin of Civil Liberties in the United States

World War I and the Origin of Civil Liberties in the United States PDF Author: Paul L. Murphy
Publisher: W. W. Norton
ISBN: 9780393012262
Category : Civil rights
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description

World War I and the Origin of Civil Liberties in the United States

World War I and the Origin of Civil Liberties in the United States PDF Author: Paul L. Murphy
Publisher: W. W. Norton
ISBN: 9780393012262
Category : Civil rights
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description


World War I and the Origin of Civil Liberties in the United States

World War I and the Origin of Civil Liberties in the United States PDF Author: Paul L. Murphy
Publisher: W W Norton & Company Incorporated
ISBN: 9780393950120
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Clarifies the reasons why the first attempt to secure meaningful civil liberties occurred in the World War I era.

Security V. Liberty

Security V. Liberty PDF Author: Daniel Farber
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610441931
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
In the weeks following 9/11, the Bush administration launched the Patriot Act, rejected key provisions of the Geneva Convention, and inaugurated a sweeping electronic surveillance program for intelligence purposes—all in the name of protecting national security. But the current administration is hardly unique in pursuing such measures. In Security v. Liberty, Daniel Farber leads a group of prominent historians and legal experts in exploring the varied ways in which threats to national security have affected civil liberties throughout American history. Has the government's response to such threats led to a gradual loss of freedoms once taken for granted, or has the nation learned how to restore civil liberties after threats subside and how to put protections in place for the future? Security v. Liberty focuses on periods of national emergency in the twentieth century—from World War I through the Vietnam War—to explore how past episodes might bear upon today's dilemma. Distinguished historian Alan Brinkley shows that during World War I the government targeted vulnerable groups—including socialists, anarchists, and labor leaders—not because of a real threat to the nation, but because it was politically expedient to scapegoat unpopular groups. Nonetheless, within ten years the Supreme Court had rolled back the most egregious of the World War I restrictions on civil liberties. Legal scholar John Yoo argues for the legitimacy of the Bush administration's War on Terror policies—such as the detainment and trials of suspected al Qaeda members—by citing historical precedent in the Roosevelt administration's prosecution of World War II. Yoo contends that, compared to Roosevelt's sweeping use of executive orders, Bush has exercised relative restraint in curtailing civil liberties. Law professor Geoffrey Stone describes how J. Edgar Hoover used domestic surveillance to harass anti-war protestors and civil rights groups throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Congress later enacted legislation to prevent a recurrence of the Hoover era excesses, but Stone notes that the Bush administration has argued for the right to circumvent some of these restrictions in its campaign against terrorism. Historian Jan Ellen Lewis looks at early U.S. history to show how an individual's civil liberties often depended on the extent to which he or she fit the definition of "American" as the country's borders expanded. Legal experts Paul Schwartz and Ronald Lee examine the national security implications of rapid advances in information technology, which is increasingly driven by a highly globalized private sector, rather than by the U.S. government. Security v. Liberty shows that civil liberties are a not an immutable right, but the historically shifting result of a continuous struggle that has extended over two centuries. This important new volume provides a penetrating historical and legal analysis of the trade-offs between security and liberty that have shaped our national history—trade-offs that we confront with renewed urgency in a post-9/11 world.

The Taming of Free Speech

The Taming of Free Speech PDF Author: Laura Weinrib
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674545710
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
Laura Weinrib shows how a coalition of lawyers and activists made judicial enforcement of the Bill of Rights a defining feature of American democracy. Protection of civil liberties was a calculated bargain between liberals and conservatives to save the courts from New Deal attack and secure free speech for both labor radicals and businesses.

The Espionage and Sedition Acts

The Espionage and Sedition Acts PDF Author: Mitchell Newton-Matza
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317691296
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
The Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917-1918 mark one of the most controversial moments in American history. Even as President Woodrow Wilson justified US entry into World War I on the grounds that it would "make the world safe for democracy," the act curtailed civil liberties at home by making it illegal to speak out against the US participation in the conflict. Supporters of the Acts argued that these measures were necessary to protect national security and keep in check the perceived threat of radical activities, while opponents considered them an unjustifiable breach of the Bill of Rights. The conflict between government powers and civil liberties concretized by the Acts continues to resonate today. The Espionage and Sedition Acts introduces students to this controversial set of laws, the cultural and political context in which they were passed, and their historical ramifications. In a concise narrative supplemented by primary sources including court cases, newspaper articles, and personal papers, Mitchell C. Newton-Matza gives students of history and politics a nuanced understanding of this key event.

All the Laws but One

All the Laws but One PDF Author: William H. Rehnquist
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307424693
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
In All the Laws but One, William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, provides an insightful and fascinating account of the history of civil liberties during wartime and illuminates the cases where presidents have suspended the law in the name of national security. Abraham Lincoln, champion of freedom and the rights of man, suspended the writ of habeas corpus early in the Civil War--later in the war he also imposed limits upon freedom of speech and the press and demanded that political criminals be tried in military courts. During World War II, the government forced 100,000 U.S. residents of Japanese descent, including many citizens, into detainment camps. Through these and other incidents Chief Justice Rehnquist brilliantly probes the issues at stake in the balance between the national interest and personal freedoms. With All the Laws but One he significantly enlarges our understanding of how the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution during past periods of national crisis--and draws guidelines for how it should do so in the future.

In Defense of American Liberties

In Defense of American Liberties PDF Author: Samuel Walker
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 9780809322701
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 540

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Book Description
This updated comprehensive history of the American Civil Liberties Union recounts the ACLU's stormy history since its founding in 1920 to fight for free speech and explores its involvement in some of the most famous causes in American history, including the Scopes "monkey trial," the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the Cold War anti-Communist witch hunts, and the civil rights movement. The new introduction covers the history of the organization and developments in civil liberties in the 1990s, including the U.S. Supreme Court's declaration of the Communications Decency Act as unconstitutional in ACLU v. Reno.

Freedom Under Fire

Freedom Under Fire PDF Author: Michael Linfield
Publisher: South End Press
ISBN: 9780896083745
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
"The great wars we have fought for the sake of liberty have been accompanied, without exception, by the most draconian assaults on individual rights. This is the theme of Michael Linfield's Freedom Under Fire, and he documents it with examples from every war since the American Revolution."--The Progressive "Linfield demonstrates conclusively, starting with the American Revolution and coming right up to the invasion of Panama, that the Bill of Rights is set aside by the government again and again, for reasons of 'national security.' He performs an important service, reminding us that liberty cannot be entrusted to the Bill of Rights or to the three branches of government, but only can be safeguarded by our own vigilance."--Howard Zinn

Liberty and Coercion

Liberty and Coercion PDF Author: Gary Gerstle
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691178216
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 470

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Book Description
How the conflict between federal and state power has shaped American history American governance is burdened by a paradox. On the one hand, Americans don't want "big government" meddling in their lives; on the other hand, they have repeatedly enlisted governmental help to impose their views regarding marriage, abortion, religion, and schooling on their neighbors. These contradictory stances on the role of public power have paralyzed policymaking and generated rancorous disputes about government’s legitimate scope. How did we reach this political impasse? Historian Gary Gerstle, looking at two hundred years of U.S. history, argues that the roots of the current crisis lie in two contrasting theories of power that the Framers inscribed in the Constitution. One theory shaped the federal government, setting limits on its power in order to protect personal liberty. Another theory molded the states, authorizing them to go to extraordinary lengths, even to the point of violating individual rights, to advance the "good and welfare of the commonwealth." The Framers believed these theories could coexist comfortably, but conflict between the two has largely defined American history. Gerstle shows how national political leaders improvised brilliantly to stretch the power of the federal government beyond where it was meant to go—but at the cost of giving private interests and state governments too much sway over public policy. The states could be innovative, too. More impressive was their staying power. Only in the 1960s did the federal government, impelled by the Cold War and civil rights movement, definitively assert its primacy. But as the power of the central state expanded, its constitutional authority did not keep pace. Conservatives rebelled, making the battle over government’s proper dominion the defining issue of our time. From the Revolution to the Tea Party, and the Bill of Rights to the national security state, Liberty and Coercion is a revelatory account of the making and unmaking of government in America.

American Government 3e

American Government 3e PDF Author: Glen Krutz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781738998470
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Black & white print. American Government 3e aligns with the topics and objectives of many government courses. Faculty involved in the project have endeavored to make government workings, issues, debates, and impacts meaningful and memorable to students while maintaining the conceptual coverage and rigor inherent in the subject. With this objective in mind, the content of this textbook has been developed and arranged to provide a logical progression from the fundamental principles of institutional design at the founding, to avenues of political participation, to thorough coverage of the political structures that constitute American government. The book builds upon what students have already learned and emphasizes connections between topics as well as between theory and applications. The goal of each section is to enable students not just to recognize concepts, but to work with them in ways that will be useful in later courses, future careers, and as engaged citizens. In order to help students understand the ways that government, society, and individuals interconnect, the revision includes more examples and details regarding the lived experiences of diverse groups and communities within the United States. The authors and reviewers sought to strike a balance between confronting the negative and harmful elements of American government, history, and current events, while demonstrating progress in overcoming them. In doing so, the approach seeks to provide instructors with ample opportunities to open discussions, extend and update concepts, and drive deeper engagement.