Loyalty, Treason, and Sedition in the United States During Crisis Times

Violent eruptions and repression directed against groups or ideologies which threaten or seem to threaten values and interests at the core of the national consensus are a constant theme in the United States’ history. Blatant violations of rights and constitutional guarantees were especially rampant during times that the United States was engaged in long wars. Political repression parallels racism as a constant theme on the darker side of the American story.1