Suspension of Civil Liberties in America
Suspension of Civil Liberties in America During Times of War This paper will prove that civil liberties, in America, during times of war, should not be suspended. This paper will prove this point by discussing the impact of the Japanese internment camps in the 1940’s, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and more contemporary examples such as the Patriot Act that occurred after the 9/11 attacks. However, the main case examined will be the Japanese internment camps. America has always been thought of as a land of freedom and salvation. America is a melting pot because of the immigrants that from all over the world that came to this country. Most of these immigrants came to America to escape the harsher conditions of their home countries. Here, in America, people have rights, rights that the government guarantees to its citizens. The constitution is the law of the land and ensures all of those rights are protected. America is spoken so highly of for giving its citizens all these freedoms and rights, but it does not make itself look good when it strips its people of those rights during times of war. Civil liberties have been suspended for many citizens who the constitution states are lawful citizens of this country. The question though, is whether this is lawful, just, and should be allowed to be executed on America’s citizens. Not prisoners of war, not convicted felons or terrorists, not known threats to the country, but America’s very own innocent citizens. One of the most famous claims to this unlawful suspension is the idea that the government is doing a protection to the citizens. “This administration's propensity for overstepping centuries-old legislative procedures is in the name of national security.” (Reaves). The government, is somehow protecting its citizens from people who pose little to no threat.
Christopher Pyle, professor of politics and constitutional law at Mount Holyoke College, provides an example of the types of legal aliens in America
Christopher Pyle, professor of politics and constitutional law at Mount Holyoke College, provides an example of the types of legal aliens in America