U.S. Homeland Security: A Reference Handbook

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ABC-CLIO, 2005 - 235 pages
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A legal scholar details the creation and function of the Department of Homeland Security, placing it in historical context.
A concept so important, it is among the first words of the U.S. Constitution, the defense of our borders is as essential today as it was more than 200 years ago. In response to the breakdown of that function on September 11, 2001, the administration sponsored the USA PATRIOT Act, and created the Office of Homeland Security. Critics of those actions claim these measures give too much power to the government and impermissibly impinge on civil liberties; supporters claim they are necessary for national security.

From the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts to the present, the government has aggressively discharged its duty to ensure domestic tranquility, including jailing dissidents and forcing Japanese American citizens into internment camps. In this book, a leading legal scholar explains in detail the present federal actions and places them in historical context.

  • A chronology of federal responses to homeland security threats from 1798 to the present
  • Primary source documents that show present and historical federal responses to internal and external threats

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Contents

Creating a CabinetLevel Department of Homeland
27
Problems Facing the DHS and Proposed Solutions
45
Chronology
81
Biographical Profiles
91
Documents
117
Directory of Organizations
193
Print and Nonprint Resources
207
Index
219
About the Author
235
Copyright

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Popular passages

Page 9 - ... overthrow or destruction of any government hi the United States, to print, publish, edit, issue, circulate, sell, distribute, or publicly display any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence...
Page 10 - Whenever there is declared a war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or government, and the President makes public proclamation of the event...
Page 118 - Office") to be headed by the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. Sec. 2. Mission. The mission of the Office shall be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks.
Page 8 - When a nation is at war many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight, and that no court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right.
Page 123 - The Secretary of the Treasury The Secretary of Defense The Attorney General The Secretary of the Interior The Secretary of Agriculture The Secretary of Commerce The Secretary of Labor The Secretary of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The Secretary of Transportation The Secretary of Energy The Secretary of Education The Secretary of Veterans...
Page 8 - States or to promote the success of its enemies, and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States...
Page 15 - Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.
Page 9 - ... government in the United States by force or violence; "(3) to organize or help to organize any society, group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or encourage the overthrow or destruction of any government in the United States...
Page 117 - Accordingly, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1.
Page 123 - Executive order is intended only to Improve the internal management of the Federal Government and does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

References to this book

About the author (2005)

Howard Ball is professor of law at Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT, and professor of political science and University Scholar Emeritus at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. His published works include ABC-CLIO's The USA Patriot Act and War Crimes and Justice.

Bibliographic information