Distinguished-Service Professor Addresses Civil Liberties In Times Of War At Chautauqua Institution
GREGORY BACON
CHAUTAUQUA — Before Sept. 11, 2001 there were at least six times in the history of the United States the government has pushed aside civil liberties based on national threat.
In each instance, after the threat was over, officials and citizens alike realize what was done was wrong, but they make the same mistakes the next time America is threatened.
Such was the background of a lecture given Monday at Chautauqua Institution by Geoffrey Stone, a distinguished-service professor of law at the University of Chicago.
Stone is a leading scholar in constitutional law, particularly the first amendment. His most recent book, "Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism" (2004) received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for 2005, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for 2004 as the Best Book in History, and was a Finalist for the American Bar Association’s 2005 Silver Gavel Award. It was also hailed as among the most notable books of 2004 by the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Christian Science Monitor.
Although Stone did not specifically address the rights of Islamic people in America today, he did talk about times when our country struggled with rights of individuals during times of national threats.
The first time, he noted, was in 1798 when France and England were at war and the U.S. was urged to join France. At that time the U.S. was a new nation and leaders were unsure if the country would survive.
The government introduced the Sedation Act which declared any treasonable activity, including the publication of "any false, scandalous and malicious writing," a high misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment.
According to Stone, many Americans opposed the Act, which helped elect Thomas Jefferson as the country’s next president. The next big challenge for our nation, he said, was the Civil War. As many as 38,000 Americans were taken into custody by military authorities without any court review.
In the start of World War I before the United States was involved, Americans were leery about participating. However the government enacted legislation, making it illegal for people to demonstrate their opposition in a public manner.
In World War II it was the Japanese-Americans who suffered civil liberty losses when they were taken into concentration camps for up to three years. Although the move was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Robert H. Jackson dissented.
Stone praised Jackson’s written dissent. "Robert H. Jackson is one of my heroes," he said. "He was one of the best writers to ever serve on the Supreme Court."
During the Cold War, Stone noted that America was concerned over the size and strength of the Soviet Union. Republicans seized the opportunity to claim Democrats had placed communists into high-ranking positions.
Finally in Vietnam, Stone noted the government ordered 500,000 investigations of people involved in anti-war protests.
"We have a history of suspending civil liberties in times of threats," Stone said. "There’s always the temptation of politicians to use the threat of national security to serve political gain."
Stone noted in each instance, the government and courts have later come to regret the actions taken. "Unfortunately, most of the time, we do it again in the future," he said.
He admits it’s a difficult balance protecting civil liberties in times of threats or perceived threats to our nation. "Our record is uneven at best," he said.
Stone believes our society needs wise justices that will protect civil liberties. He also believes more needs to be done in times of peace to develop policies on how to handle civil liberties during times of peril. "In the middle of circumstances we almost never make the right decisions," he said.
Finally, Stone believes it is the responsibility of Americans to speak out when civil liberties are threatened. That’s the reason the Sedition Act of 1798 was removed because Americans knew what was going on was over and above what is necessary to protect citizens.