Do Laws Better Not To See Them Being Made?

Government censorship continued with the passing of the Espionage Act in 1917 and the Sedition Amendment in 1918. The Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment condemned any antiwar activity or desecrating of the government, Constitution, flag, or military. The American public could not have an opinion, unless that opinion supported the war and government. Even Wilson stated, "Woe be to the man or group of men that seeks to stand in our way." Government censorship and “unpatriotic acts”, as deemed by the Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment, gave birth to a suspicious nation.

The main reason for this legislation was to keep the United States isolated from the rest of the world, which many Americans believed would keep us safe from an attack on America. Americans were so afraid of a threat to the country, the United States disregarded one of its most beloved Amendments of the Constitution, the First which gives citizens the freedom of speech.

After the Espionage Act, came the Sedition Act in 1918. The Sedition Act did not allow language “tending to incite, provoke, and encourage resistance to the United States in said war”. This Act infringed further on people’s First Amendment rights. Individuals’ abilities to express themselves were curtailed. One of the people that went against this Act was Joseph Abrams. Abrams was a Russian immigrant who did not agree with the Americans invading Russia. Because of this,

The Alien and Sedition Acts were laws passed by the 5th Congress in 1798 in preparation for an undeclared naval war with France, later known to be the Quasi-War. The Acts passed, signed by then-President John Adams, aimed to limit the power of the opposition Democratic-Republican Party, who was at the time supportive of the French and to create a barrier against aliens and immigrants who were feared to sympathize with the French. Brought upon to restrict the public activities of political radicals who had sympathized with the French Revolution, as well as those who challenged Adams’ Federalist policies, The Alien and Sedition Acts were created not for the intention to promote national security but rather to uphold the image of power created by the Federalists in hopes of suppressing the views of opposing parties.

The Alien Act allowed the president to remove anyone he thought to be dangerous or harmful to the country’s well being from the country. The Sedition Act banned all criticizing of the United States government in any way shape or form. Both acts violate the constitution in multiple ways. The Alien and Sedition Acts were created to filter and clean out the “bad” people from the young and growing country, and to keep the government clean. Innocent people were being removed from the country because he or she was thought to be dangerous. Only one side of the government was being seen. There was no contrast or comparison in our government of the people. When people started to realize that these acts were unconstitutional they began to rebel to protect themselves.

The Sedition Act was approved by Congress on July 14, 1798. It differed from the Alien Act; the Alien Act affected all United States citizens and not only the aliens. The Alien Act was also clearer that if a person is being convicted of any crime against the United States. Furthermore, the Sedition Act was designed to protect the Federalist and the President from “false” and “malicious” statements with the power of speaking. It didn’t protect the Vice President Thomas Jefferson or the Republicans. The act stated in Section 1 of the Sedition Act, “to impede the operation of any law of the United States, or to intimidate or prevent any person holding a place or office in or under the government of the United States, from undertaking, performing or executing his trust or duty, and if any person or persons, with intent as aforesaid, shall counsel, advise or attempt to procure any insurrection, riot, unlawful assembly, or combination, whether such conspiracy, threatening, counsel, advice, or attempt shall have

Before World War One, people were allowed to watch, write, or say anything they wanted to as long as they weren’t harming anyone. However, the Republicans and Democrats were arguing over whether or not we should have more censorship. The Democrats wanted more censorship, but Republicans didn’t want more censorship. As it was stated in document 1, they didn’t want the president to be able to block himself from getting criticism. The Espionage and Sedition Acts were put in place so that people couldn’t interfere with the success of the army, it was to help find people who were disloyal to the army.

The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed by the Federalist-dominated 5th United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams in 1798.The Alien and Sedition Acts reflected anti-French hysteria because it prevented immigrants from entering the United States. The acts passed by Congress were in direct response to the French foreign threat and the French Revolution. The Reign of Terror was terrifying and the States wanted to keep peace amongst its people. There were afraid of the masses rising up against them like what was happening in France. These acts allowed deportation of foreigners, and in addition made it difficult for immigrants to vote. When these acts were passed by Congress it only strengthened federal security.

Government censorship continued with the passing of the Espionage Act in 1917 and the Sedition Amendment in 1918. The Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment condemned any antiwar activity or desecrating of the government, Constitution, flag, or military. The American public were almost at a point where they could not have an opinion, unless in support of the war and government. Even Wilson stated, "Woe be to the man or group of men that seeks to stand in our way." These acts of censorship gave birth to a suspicious nation.

Several acts severely infringe the civil liberties of Americans; for example, Title II of the act provides for enhanced surveillance procedures. Authority to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications became expanded if these communications might be related to terrorism or computer fraud. There are 25 separate sections providing significant new authority for the government to monitor mail, e-mail, voice mail, and telephone and computer communications. Search warrants will be easier to obtain, and they will be broader in scope. Warrants will be valid for longer periods. The FBI can ask for a warrant requiring any tangible items which can include books, papers, records, documents, etc…(the warrant may be non-specific in nature). This is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of search and seizure.

September 11, 2001 sparked many different feelings into the hearts of Americans. People sprang into action to seek revenge and protect America’s precious soils from another deadly attack by reinforcing America’s strength through her government. The men and women of Congress retaliated to the terrorist attacks by drafting and passing the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001, which stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.” The bill was moved through Congress with amazing speed and little hesitation. After the passing, the unsuspecting citizens of America were bombarded with many new rules and regulations that

Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 “forbade false, scandalous, and malicious publications against the U.S. government, congress, and the President” (Pembert & Calvert, 2011, p. 48). The law was used to punish those who sought to cause problems and urged resistance to the government. There were 15 prosecutions under this law, many of which belonged to leading papers in the nation at that time. This law was overturned in 1801 and President Jefferson pardoned all those convicted under this law. Today people are allowed to criticize the government and publicly hold views that do not go along with the government or the current administration with little to no prosecution.

Law has shaped many factors in society such as race and gender. Laws reflect the values of society, and historically we can see that laws were created in order to maintain power for the white, male population. In order to do this, law had to create the idea of the “other” since race and gender are not natural occurrences. Race and gender although not real, are powerful social phenomenons that have shaped law and society.

In Dr. Kings Essay, King believes that our country (the U.S) has laws that are either just or unjust. Dr. King believes that: “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (King,208). King was a civil rights leader that had his protests embedded on a peaceful basis, therefore he had to show that he had respect for the law and at the same time he wouldn't be afraid to stand up to the man and protest when an immoral unjust law had just been passed. King references to World War II when Adolf Hitler rose to power and conquered most of Europe. At the time it would have been illegal to protest and rebel against Hitler. But now looking back at history, most

In reading your discussion reply, I agree discretion or judgment is something a police officer possesses to enforce the laws. It is a process that allows them to decide whether the perpetrator needs a chance to correct their misinterpretations of the law in committing these criminal activities. However, the controversy does come about when you state that lowering the crime opposed to having equal punishment for all across the public sector. Do you think it is fair to apply laws when it is a convenience or implement when an individual feels the need to enforce these laws opposed to carrying the laws out on a regular basis? I believe practices or strategies methods such as these tend to sway on those law abiding citizens into becoming corrupt. For example, it is equivalent to aiming high to obtain a target without having prior knowledge of what the expectations are for accomplishing a task.