Civil Liberties In Times Of Crisis Analysis

In times of crisis, the United States has a tendency to limit the Constitutional civil liberties granted to its citizens. This has been the practice since the foundation of the country itself, seen in times of war, famine, depression, or even in times of mass-panic. However, as time progresses, the question of whether or not the restriction of rights granted in the Bill of Rights is, in fact, justified. Alan Brinkley, in both his essay Civil Liberties in Times of Crisis and his book American History: A Survey, explores the history of the suppression of freedoms during troubling times for the country. His conclusion, that the US government goes in excess what the crisis warrants while limiting liberties, is well-supported, using evidence from the “140 years of silence”, World War I, and the Red Scare to argue his
The legislation outlawed the distribution of possibly radical material from the mail and the vocal critique of the US government, Constitution, or military (Civil Liberties 2). The APA mobilised citizen “agents” to read mail, spy on neighbours, and report suspicious actions. These actions, both legislative and domestic, targeted the small, non-violent groups of labor leaders, Socialists, radicals, dissidents, and minorities, particularly German Americans (American History 628). Teutophobia was so out of hand that one minister was lynched for praying in German (Civil Liberties 2). While it was important to raise support for an unpopular but necessary war, the factions that opposed the war were never large, or violent enough to prevent the United States from going to war, as evidenced by the United States flat-out joining the war. Thus, the violence and violation of their First Amendment rights as citizens of the United States was not justifiable given what little power these groups actually