The Quasi War

One of the longest lasting debates in the United States is the struggle to balance freedom and safety. Throughout history there have been instances were freedoms have been suspended- whether for the better or worse- because the United States was in a time of crisis. The Quasi War against the French, the Civil War, and the First World War were events where presidents found themselves under fire because of their controversial suspension of certain constitutional rights. Should certain freedoms be curtailed in times of crisis? This debate has always been so controversial because there has never been a majority one way or another. There have always been people for suspending freedoms to preserve safety and at the same time there have always been people that have believed that freedom is ultimately more important than safety.

Quasi War

In the country’s adolescence the United States encountered their first scenario when the suspension of certain rights seemed necessary: the Quasi War. In the late 1700s leaders of the French Revolution were frustrated with the United States and had signed an order that allowed the French to seize American merchant ships. President John Adams sent a delegation to Paris in an effort to maintain peaceful relations with the French. To the United States’ mortification Tallyrand, the French’s minister of foreign relations, refused to meet with this delegation and instead sent three agents to meet them instead. These agents (later known as agents XYZ) informed the delegation that the United States needs to give France a low-interest loan and pay a substantial bribe to Talleyrand. (Office of the Historian) When Adams presented this correspondence before Congress the Federalists cried out for war against the F...

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...itution, there is an allotment for the suspension of habeas corpus if there is an instance of rebellion, which the Civil War was. Adams’ and Wilson’s policies, however, blatantly defied the Constitution. Although it is true that they did it in good intent, it’s similar to a poor person robbing a gas station to get some food; it may be with good intentions, but it is still wrong. The Constitution is what we, as Americans, have accepted as our unbreakable laws. In our eyes, the Constitution is almost sacred. So, when Presidents decide that their laws can override what we believe to be just, it lessens the value of the Constitution. It is my belief that in times of crisis or war, when national survival is at stake, the upholding of our Constitution is more imperative than ever, to prove to American citizens that our government will stand by what they have promised us.