A Brief History of Wartime Federal Expansion

While the Federal instinct to encroach is constant, an uncomfortable historical fact should slow down your enthusiasm whenever you hear cries for unity during war time. The enemies that America faces are our enemies for good reason, but the current bloated state of the Federal government has been allowed only through a series of encroachments in wartime. From 1776 to the present, war has allowed the Federal government to throw out all previously agreed-upon rules and overtake areas of life that would’ve belonged to the states or private citizens in any other time. The eyes of vigilance towards the Federal government are eased, and the scrutiny is shifted to other countries. This is completely understandable, but stands as a reminder that no matter the situation, the state’s instinctual grasping for power never stops.

The threat of British takeover in the revolutionary war allowed many states to concede to a union far firmer than what they would have otherwise agreed to. The Federalists saw strong unity as necessary to defeating the British and to life even in peace time. Perhaps the British would have won the war if not for the strong union of the colonies, but many colonies would have been content to remain more loosely affiliated. In fact, the articles of confederation spoke of the central government as a more minimalistic practical agreement arising from a “firm league of friendship” between the states. The threat of war allowed Hamilton and others to expand the role of the central government. Even from the beginning of the nation, America has been constantly balancing the desire for freedom with the “safety” of expanded central control.

The Civil War is a great example of Federal overreach for a predominantly good cause, though harmful nonetheless. The Southern states were taking advantage of what they believed was their right, and rather than challenging them with the law or argument, Lincoln simply used force to impose the will of the North. Going so far as detaining assemblymen to stop them from voting, Lincoln felt that the state of war justified almost any action. While Lincoln kept the nation together and ended slavery, his prioritization of the American union over any of the states that it consisted of set a precedent for many later abuses. The identity of the union could now be used to justify violence against any of its parts. He made it easier for the government to forget the Lockean fundamental principle of consent as the primary basis of its power. Ironically, the arguments made by the Federalists with the goal of escaping Great Britain’s oppression were later used to enforce the exact sort of oppression they were trying to flee.…