Leadership and Constitutionality In Times of War Essay -- War Governme

Leadership and Constitutionality In Times of War In times of crisis, nations look to leaders who will protect them from the dangers they fear. The United States has seen multiple wars and lived them out under multiple leaders, each of which had varying policies for protecting the American citizens from enemies, both foreign and domestic. Today we find ourselves asking how our present leader will protect the American citizens from outside terrorists, and wondering how previous leaders would react to the current situation. Some of the greatest and most revered presidents found themselves in the same situation we find ourselves today: where to draw the line between constitutionality and the safety of the American public. A closer look at three past presidents offers three different experiences with wartime policy and the preservation of civil rights in times of national emergency. The Father who Never Forgot: Madison’s Wartime Policy It would be impossible to say that James Madison ever forgot his writings of 1787. The Constitution would be forever engraved on his mind, the reminder of a shared vision between leaders who held history in the palms of their hands and shaped it into a fair and just Republic. Madison, as author of the document defining that very vision, shaped his own life and political policy to constantly mirror that vision. Of all the presidents of the United States, Madison was most likely the one who remained most loyal to the Constitution. Even in times of war, when other presidents would take further executive measures (as they were allowed,) Madison was reluctant to jeopardize his citizen’s civil rights. Madison’s wartime policy clearly reflects a leader dedicated to the Constitution and its pres... ... co-founders so carefully laid out in the document they produced that sweltering summer of 1787. Works Cited â€Å"Adams, John.† The American President. Accessed February 27, 2003; available from http://www.americanpresident.org/presbios/presbios.htm. LaFeber, Walter. The American Age: U.S. Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad, 1750-Present. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., Inc., 1994. â€Å"Madison, James.† The American President. Accessed February 27, 2003; available from http://www.americanpresident.org/presbios/presbios.htm. Rehnquist, Chief Justice William A. â€Å"Civil Liberty in Wartime: Remarks of Supreme Court Chief Justice William A. Rehnquist at the Director’s Forum, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, November 17, 1999.† [speech online] Accessed February 27, 2003; available from http://www.totse.com/en/politics/political_spew/rant1.html.