Introduction
After the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, the Federal government enacted, with a minimal amount of Congressional hearings, far reaching legislation that was designed to help fight terrorism. The legislation gave the government, especially the executive branch, an unprecedented amount of power to arrest and to detain people who were thought to be terrorists or who were suspected of having information about possible terrorist threats. Some of those detained may be subject to special military tribunals.
This unit, designed for an 11th grade United States History class, will look at previous uses of military tribunals and will try to answer the following questions. First, at what times and under what circumstances have military tribunals been used? Second, what type of prisoner is subject to this type of tribunal? Third, what are the civil rights of the persons held and on what grounds may the government act? They will then compare these previous examples to procedures that are permitted under the USA PATRIOT Act.
Students who work with this unit will learn more about the rights of citizens and the limited constitutional safeguards for non-citizens, including illegal aliens. This second point will be of interest to my students, many of whom are recent immigrants to this country. They will see how the Bill of Rights is used today and will understand some of the threats to freedom that can result from an overzealous application of repressive measures. They will be able to evaluate various viewpoints and will separate valid and invalid arguments. Because new developments will be reported in the daily press, they will be encouraged to read a newspaper. Their reading comprehension and vocabulary will be increased.
I also hope that students will learn why people become angry when signs are posted in public transportation urging people to be vigilant in observing fellow passengers. Why were Maryland residents angered when signs urging this observation appeared recently in the Metro (Fenton 2005 C4)? How are signs such as these thought to be subversive or reminiscent of totalitarian governments? How do these signs differ from those posted in World War II warning people not to talk or give away information that might endanger the war effort?
The USA PATRIOT Act has several provisions that infringe or have the potential to infringe on an individual's privacy. Other legislation enables the government to detain people for indefinite periods of time without being charged with a crime. Regulations about secrecy allow the government to forbid the release of information regarding the names of the detained and the specific crimes for which they have been apprehended. Those who have been detained have limited access to lawyers and such access, when granted, is subject to supervision by the government. Many people would maintain that limitations of these types violate basic rights as guaranteed or implied by the United States Constitution and its amendments.
This unit will look at some of the reasons given for these regulations and will focus on three earlier uses of military tribunals. Each of these examples has different circumstances and statuses of the persons involved. First, Andrew Jackson proclaimed martial law during his occupation of New Orleans in the War of 1812 (1815) and used a military tribunal to try a civilian. Second, the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination, all of whom were civilians, but hostile to the Union, were tried by a military tribunal. The third tribunal, that of the German saboteurs who were captured after they had landed on Long Island and Florida during World War II, is significant because it has been used as a precedent for the actions of the Bush administration regarding the rights of detainees and the extent of executive power.
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