Legislating against liberties how Congress suppresses constitutional rights after wars Harry Blain

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Blain, Harry, Author.

Series:

Constitutional thinking

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War and emergency legislation--United States.

War and emergency legislation.

Legislative power--United States.

Legislative power.

War and emergency powers--United States.

War and emergency powers.

Civil rights--United States.

Civil rights.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

United States.

World War, 1914-1918--United States.

World War, 1914-1918.

World War, 1939-1945--United States.

World War, 1939-1945.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--United States.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kansas University Press of Kansas [2026]

Summary:

"A sobering and eye-opening indictment that Congress has consistently been the most dangerous branch of government when it comes to protecting, and undermining, civil liberties—particularly in the wake of military conflict.Why do wartime restrictions on civil liberties outlive their original justifications? Scholars have long argued that the blame lies with the executive branch of government. Their logic is straightforward: during war, lawmakers require (in Alexander Hamilton’s words) “decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch,” so they choose to enable executive leadership. Executives promise to wield extraordinary powers temporarily, only to entrench them indefinitely. This book tests how these claims hold up in four pivotal moments in US history: the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. Ultimately, it finds them wanting.Harry Blain argues that national legislators are decisive in sustaining postwar restrictions on civil liberties. These elected officials have formidable tools at their disposal, including powers over the rules and membership of their own institution, the funding and personnel of the executive branch, the jurisdiction of federal courts, and the priorities of state and local governments. These tools make Congress, not the executive, the primary institutional threat to civil liberties in the aftermath of war. For example, the House used its exclusion power to refuse to seat the socialist Victor Berger, disenfranchising voters in the process; Congress used its power to compel testimony during the Red Scares in an effort to discredit and humiliate their political enemies; and legislators have removed, or threatened to remove, Supreme Court jurisdiction over habeas corpus petitions throughout US history.In a time where the president and the Supreme Court are seen as the most dangerous branches of government, Legislating Against Liberties is a sober reminder that Congress has historically been at the vanguard of undermining democracy and liberty"-- JSTOR

Contents:

Introduction : the most dangerous branch

Repressive legislation

Independent tools

Congress and the executive

Congress and the judiciary

Congress and the states

The Vietnam anomaly

Epilogue : civil liberties in the age of Trump

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (JSTOR, viewed April 6, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version Blain, Harry Legislating against liberties

ISBN:

9780700641079

0700641076

9780700641062

0700641068

OCLC:

1583238587