US History Essay

Since 1865, there have been several notable instances of restricting residents’ abilities, which had an impact on the state. However, given the intention to protect the interests of the country, these steps were justified.

Legislation during World War 1

For instance, legislation passed during World War 1 in 1917–1918 defined certain types of behavior as crimes. The Espionage Act outlawed disloyalty, inciting insubordination, instigating mutiny in the military, and obstructing recruitment. It also forbade creating false reports with the purpose to interfere with the success of the military or the naval forces. The Sedition Act then outlined eight additional crimes, such as publishing, uttering, publishing any disloyal reports, abusive language that depicts contempt or disrespect for the government.

Internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II

Another example is the Internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, which resulted from the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese military. The Executive Order was signed in 1942 and led to the relocation of approximately one hundred and twenty Japanese-Americans into camps.

The Red Scare and McCarthyism

Another example or purposeful limitation of rights is the Red Scare that represented the concern towards the subversion of the communists within the society. McCarthyism was the practice that was carried out in America to minimize the threat posed by communism. The exercises included the detention of suspects deemed to pose a threat to the security and whose ’communist’ activities were not legal.

The Pentagon papers

Finally, the Pentagon papers that discussed the US involvement in Vietnam prove that mere assumption is enough for the government to conduct tough policy as in this case “Dept. has no evidence of direct link between Ho and Moscow, but assumes it exists”.

Thus, these examples prove the thesis that liberties can be sacrificed for the sake of preserving the state.

Bibliography

”[Part I] Vietnam and the U.S., 1940-1950. Pentagon Papers.” National Archives. Accessed November 29, 2017. https://www.archives.gov/research/pentagon-papers.

”Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese.” National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed November 29, 2017. https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/?dod-date=219.

Communist Control Act of 1954. U.S. Statutes at Large, Public Law 637, Chp. 886, p. 775-780. AN ACT.

Corbett, P. Scott, Janssen Volker, John M. Lund, Todd J. Pfannestiel, and Paul S. Vickery. U.S. history. Houston, TX: OpenStax, Rice University, 2017.

Espionage and Sedition Act. The United States Statutes at Large, V. 40. (April 1917-March 1919).