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Civil Liberties in Wartime
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1798
Alien And Sedition Acts Signed Into Law
1801
Sedition Act Of 1798 Expires
April 1861
Lincoln Suspends Writ Of Habeas Corpus In Md.
May 1861
Chief Justice Rejects Lincoln's Right To Suspend Habeas Corpus
September 1862
Lincoln Suspends Habeas Corpus For All States
1866
Court Bars Use Of Military Courts For Civilians
1908
Bureau Of Investigation Is Created
1917
Espionage Act Is Passed
1918
Sedition Act Of 1918 Punishes Critics Of WWI
1918
Socialist Eugene V. Debs Is Arrested
1919
'Clear And Present Danger' Exception Established
1919
'Marketplace Of Ideas' Concept Defined
1920
Palmer Raids Target Suspected Radicals
1920
American Civil Liberties Union Is Founded
1921
Congress Repeals Sedition Act
1924
Hoover Selected As FBI Director
1933
Those Convicted Under Espionage, Sedition Acts Pardoned
1937
House Un-American Activities Committee Created
1940
Alien Registration Act Is Passed
Dec. 7, 1941
'A Date Which Will Live In Infamy'
Feb. 15, 1942
Roosevelt Authorizes Japanese Internment Camps
1943
Restrictions On Japanese Americans Upheld
1943
Court Says Internment Camps Justified In Wartime
1947
Hollywood Scrutinized For Alleged Communist Ties
1951-54
McCarthy Targets Hollywood; Hundreds Blacklisted
1952
Truman Order To Take Over Steel Mills Rejected
1957
Use Of Smith Act To Prosecute Communists Restricted
1968
Limits Placed On Symbolic Speech Right
1969
Students' Right To Symbolic Speech Upheld
1971
Antiwar Expression Is Ruled Protected Speech
1971
Newspapers Win Pentagon Papers Case
1988
Japanese Americans To Get Reparations For Internment
1991
Media Coverage Limited In Gulf War
1995
Federal Building Bombed In Oklahoma City
Sept. 11, 2001
Terrorists Attack Pentagon, World Trade Center
Sept. 21, 2001
Airlines Are Warned Against Racial Profiling
Sept. 21, 2001
Justice Dept. Closes Immigration Hearings
October 2001
Broad Antiterrorism Bill Is Passed
October 2001
Civil Liberties Groups Seek Information On Detainees
November 2001
Bush Issues Order Permitting Military Tribunals
June 2002
Airlines Accused Of Discrimination
2002
Citizen Spying Program Announced
2002
Government Ordered To Release Detainees' Names
2002
Homeland Security Act Signed
June 2003
Inspector General Critical Of Post-9/11 Detentions
June 2003
Attorney General Seeks Greater Power On Terror Suspects
2003
Government Not Required To Release Detainees' Names
June 2004
Citizen 'Enemy Combatants' Have Right To Due Process
June 2004
Federal Courts Can Hear Foreign Detainees' Appeals
2004
Patriot Act Provision Ruled Unconstitutional
2005
Bush Signs Real ID Act
March 2006
Bush Reauthorizes Patriot Act Provisions
June 2006
Basic Trial Protections Apply To Detainees
July 2006
Bush Acknowledges Geneva Conventions Apply To Detainees
2008
Court: Detainees May Challenge Detention
2009
Obama Orders Detention Camp Shut
2009
Obama To Keep Military Tribunals For Detainees
