During World War I, American activist Randolph Bourne had warned, "War is the health of the State."1 His prophecy has proven accurate; the post-1914 years have been an era of total war and the total state. It had seemed that with the fall of the Soviet Union, the state of permanent war, permanent mobilization, and permanent emergency would end. This hope has not been realized. Instead, the US and the world are now laying the groundwork for high-tech totalitarianism; liberty is in retreat, just as occurred almost everywhere between 1914 and 1945.
Precedents from the 1790s through World War II
Federal power grabs have been a bi-partisan policy, long before the War on Terror. All of these acts have created precedents for what is being done or proposed now.
In 1798, the Federal Government passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, in response to the threat of war with France.2 "The Sedition Act made it a criminal offense to print or publish false, malicious, or scandalous statements directed against the U.S. government, the president, or Congress; to foster opposition to the lawful acts of Congress; or to aid a foreign power in plotting against the United States."3 About 25 people were arrested under the law, and 10 were imprisoned. The Sedition Act had an 1801 expiration date, and appeared to be designed to impede opposition party political activity and journalism in the 1800 Presidential election. These laws were unpopular, and the reaction to them helped win the 1800 election for Thomas Jefferson.
During the Civil War, President Lincoln suspended the right of habeas corpus for the duration of the war. Thousands were arrested by the military, including anti-war newspaper editors and politicians, and one Chicago man who was briefly jailed for calling Lincoln a "damned fool."4 After the end of the war, government lawyers defended these actions before the Supreme Court, saying that wartime presidential powers "must be without limit," and that the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution almost half of the Bill of Rights were "peace provisions" that should be suspended in wartime.5 The Supreme Court scorned this apology for despotism, holding in the ex parte Milligan decision of 1866 that "The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace, and covers with the shield of its protection all classes of men, at all times, and under all circumstances."6
Precedents from the 1790s through World War II
Federal power grabs have been a bi-partisan policy, long before the War on Terror. All of these acts have created precedents for what is being done or proposed now.
In 1798, the Federal Government passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, in response to the threat of war with France.2 "The Sedition Act made it a criminal offense to print or publish false, malicious, or scandalous statements directed against the U.S. government, the president, or Congress; to foster opposition to the lawful acts of Congress; or to aid a foreign power in plotting against the United States."3 About 25 people were arrested under the law, and 10 were imprisoned. The Sedition Act had an 1801 expiration date, and appeared to be designed to impede opposition party political activity and journalism in the 1800 Presidential election. These laws were unpopular, and the reaction to them helped win the 1800 election for Thomas Jefferson.
During the Civil War, President Lincoln suspended the right of habeas corpus for the duration of the war. Thousands were arrested by the military, including anti-war newspaper editors and politicians, and one Chicago man who was briefly jailed for calling Lincoln a "damned fool."4 After the end of the war, government lawyers defended these actions before the Supreme Court, saying that wartime presidential powers "must be without limit," and that the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution almost half of the Bill of Rights were "peace provisions" that should be suspended in wartime.5 The Supreme Court scorned this apology for despotism, holding in the ex parte Milligan decision of 1866 that "The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace, and covers with the shield of its protection all classes of men, at all times, and under all circumstances."6
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