War and Civil Liberties

Bibliography-Teachers

• Charles Jencks, What is Postmodernism? 3rd edition (St. Martin's Press, 1986) pp.49-65. Mr. Jencks details the general importance of postmodern philosophy by applying it to art, architecture, and shifting political and economic ideologies while concurrently trying to explain what postmodernism is not. The reading is fairly complex but it is helpful in understanding what postmodern philosophy means.
• Jonathan Dayton and Theodore Sedgewick, Alien and Sedition Acts (1796). Federalists in Congress and executive branch attempt to silence French sympathy and criticism of federal foreign policy resulting in major backlash of the anti-federalists including Jefferson and Madison's Virginia and Kentucky resolutions.
• Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1796). Jefferson and Madison respond vehemently to the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, claiming that they violate the First Amendment to the Constitution. Importantly these essays outline the right of the states to nullify federal laws that they deem unconstitutional, a precedent that will be followed on many occasions through the American Civil War.
• William H. Rehnquist, All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime (Vintage Books, 1998). Discusses civil liberties issues during the Civil War, WWI and WWII. This work by the Chief Justice of the United States is especially readable for secondary school students. Gives substantive historical background information and addresses meaningful legal questions of the time.
• Schenck v.U.S. 249 U.S. 47 (1919). Supreme Court case of the WWI era that upholds the Espionage and Sedition Acts claiming that the federal government has the ability to limit freedoms during times of "clear and present danger."
• Ex parte Quirin 317 U.S. 1 (1942). Supreme Court case of the WWII period that produced the legal term "enemy combatants." German saboteurs captured in NY and Florida, including as American citizen, were tried before military tribunals. The court held that the aforementioned description made their trials legal.
• Korematsu v. U.S. 321 U.S. 760 (1944). Supreme Court case of the WWII era that upholds the right of the federal government to hold Japanese Americans interned as a means of protecting national security.
• Dennis v. U.S. 341 U.S. 494 (1951). Supreme Court case that upheld the Smith Act that disallowed any activity that could be deemed as conspiring to advocate or teach methods to overthrow or destroy the federal government. This particular case dealt with the arrest and conviction of members of the American communist party.
• Tinker v. Des Moines 393 U.S. 503 (1969). Supreme Court case that upheld the right of school age students to wear black armbands as a matter of protest against the federal government's involvement in Vietnam. The court found this activity to fall under the constitutional protection of freedom of speech.
• The 9/11 Commission Report. Report from a committee of public servants, private workers, and concerned citizens put together to study the tragedy of the September 11 attacks. Serves as a guide for public officials to determine preventive measures against prospective terrorists. Also focuses on civil liberties issues during such occasions.
• Michael Linfield, Freedom Under Fire: U.S. Civil Liberties during Times of War (South End Press, 1990) pp.33-112. This left leaning author emphatically portrays the federal government as an oppressive regime. His narrative points to one shocking example after another of civil liberties violations to enrage the reader. It is an easy read and one that does not qualify itself. Linfield is quite obviously taking the side, as his evidence makes clear, that our government has behaved in obtrusive, unreasonable, and despicable fashion during periods of war. Appropriate for understanding the formulation of historical arguments. When reading Linfield one should constantly ask, okay what isn't he telling me?
• Mark Neely, The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties (Oxford University Press, 1991) pp. 93-184. Neely is concerned with the modern perspective of Lincoln's transgressions during the war that are based on collected information that has not been, to his liking, properly scrutinized. This is a reflection on what sounds like his exhausting research to find out how significant the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was on the civilian population and what general effect the Ex Parte Milligan case has had on subsequent court decisions. This reading drags a bit but is perfect for understanding how historical arguments can be made both absent from and with substantial evidence.
• Paul Johnson, A History of the American People (Harper Collins, 1997). Johnson's approach to American History both challenges and reinforces some of what has become the contemporary conventional wisdom of American History. For instance, Johnson attacks the "mythical" notion that President Hoover was a "do-nothing" executive during the early period of the depression, while with vivid prose he spells out the murderous fanatical character of President Andrew Jackson in the early American frontier. I am especially pleased with Johnson's insistence on including details of economic history. His explanation of the '29 crash, the growth of American industry during the Gilded Age, and the idea of eminent domain as it relates to the building of the transcontinental railroad are some of what makes this volume enjoyable and substantive reading.
• Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States (Harper Perennial, 1992). Zinn's approach to America History has gained him widespread fame and criticism. The title itself is meant to let readers know that this work is about those who he believes are the people of the US: those who worked in the factories, toiled in the fields, and generally were used by those in power for material gain. Zinn focuses on American oppression, greed, and racism as the backbone of our country's heritage, not patriotism, freedom, and democracy. The book can be a hard read but is a valuable tool for showing students that there is life outside of the textbook.
• Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, Armitage, Out of Many: A History of the American People, fourth edition (Prentice Hall, 2003). Advance Placement US History textbook that can be a fairly tough read without some guidance. The real perk of the text is that it includes practice data base questions at the end of each chapter. Although the book is quite involved it proves to be an excellent reference for students of history.