Ancestors & The Alien & Sedition Act
U.K. Web site traces celebrities' roots - Yahoo! News
I meant to write about my ancestors sooner, and when I saw this article it spurred me into action. I am really busy right now with moving and other things, but I need to type this out and take a break from the busy work. It is a timely story in so many ways...read on:
My mother's ancestor came to America from Northern Ireland, and one generation before they were in Ireland, they were from the Scottish Highlands around the Oban area. This is what is known as "Scots-Irish" I suppose. My ancestor came to America with his brother to fight in the American Revolution; they were offered citizenship and residency plus 40 acres for fighting.
My ancestor, Thomas, fought in the War of Independence directly under George Washington, and records show he wintered in Valley Forge and fought in the battle right after that winter. After the war, he was granted 40 acres in Center County, Pennsylvania, where he had a farm. It was during this time that he ran into some trouble. John Adams had signed the Alien & Sedition Acts, and Thomas had said or done something that alerted the authorities to his behavior. The sheriff arrived at the farm to arrest him...however, Thomas claimed he needed to go down to his spring and get a drink and some water before leaving on the ride back to jail. The sheriff let him go, and Thomas didn't come back to the homestead. He wasn't arrested, and eventually the Alien & Sedition Acts were repealed during Jefferson's presidency. I would guess that the sheriff knew Thomas personally, knew he fought in the war, and didn't really want to arrest him.
We don't know what happened to him after that incident, only that he lived out the rest of his life in Pennsylvania and that he is buried in the local cemetery. My mother went there to research the family roots, and found that his grave is decorated by the local DAR every holiday. She also found "the spring" that was his reason to escape arrest. It is in the town of State College and is now bound by concrete in some way.
If, for whatever reason, the current "Military Commissions Act" is turned on patriotic Americans, I believe that local law enforcement will not carry out their duties, and the national guard, if called up, will not point their weapons at American citizens. This act, this travesty of civil liberties, needs to go, as does the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007," which allows the president to "...employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service when he determines that the authorities of the State "refuse" or "fail" in maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any domestic violence or conspiracy." (thanks to The Chattanoogan) No president has had the power to declare Martial Law since 1878. And frankly, no president should ever have this power.
With a new congress coming to Washington in January, I can only hope and pray that they do what is right, returning the United States to its previous incarnation and removing these demeaning infringements upon our lives and liberty.
The United States has so much good in it, but when the ideas and freedoms that made it great are taken away or twisted to give the government more power, the goodness is gone, and we are no longer American citizens in the sense that the founding fathers agreed upon and created in their literary masterpieces of governance.
God help us...and God Bless America.
I meant to write about my ancestors sooner, and when I saw this article it spurred me into action. I am really busy right now with moving and other things, but I need to type this out and take a break from the busy work. It is a timely story in so many ways...read on:
My mother's ancestor came to America from Northern Ireland, and one generation before they were in Ireland, they were from the Scottish Highlands around the Oban area. This is what is known as "Scots-Irish" I suppose. My ancestor came to America with his brother to fight in the American Revolution; they were offered citizenship and residency plus 40 acres for fighting.
My ancestor, Thomas, fought in the War of Independence directly under George Washington, and records show he wintered in Valley Forge and fought in the battle right after that winter. After the war, he was granted 40 acres in Center County, Pennsylvania, where he had a farm. It was during this time that he ran into some trouble. John Adams had signed the Alien & Sedition Acts, and Thomas had said or done something that alerted the authorities to his behavior. The sheriff arrived at the farm to arrest him...however, Thomas claimed he needed to go down to his spring and get a drink and some water before leaving on the ride back to jail. The sheriff let him go, and Thomas didn't come back to the homestead. He wasn't arrested, and eventually the Alien & Sedition Acts were repealed during Jefferson's presidency. I would guess that the sheriff knew Thomas personally, knew he fought in the war, and didn't really want to arrest him.
We don't know what happened to him after that incident, only that he lived out the rest of his life in Pennsylvania and that he is buried in the local cemetery. My mother went there to research the family roots, and found that his grave is decorated by the local DAR every holiday. She also found "the spring" that was his reason to escape arrest. It is in the town of State College and is now bound by concrete in some way.
If, for whatever reason, the current "Military Commissions Act" is turned on patriotic Americans, I believe that local law enforcement will not carry out their duties, and the national guard, if called up, will not point their weapons at American citizens. This act, this travesty of civil liberties, needs to go, as does the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007," which allows the president to "...employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service when he determines that the authorities of the State "refuse" or "fail" in maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any domestic violence or conspiracy." (thanks to The Chattanoogan) No president has had the power to declare Martial Law since 1878. And frankly, no president should ever have this power.
With a new congress coming to Washington in January, I can only hope and pray that they do what is right, returning the United States to its previous incarnation and removing these demeaning infringements upon our lives and liberty.
The United States has so much good in it, but when the ideas and freedoms that made it great are taken away or twisted to give the government more power, the goodness is gone, and we are no longer American citizens in the sense that the founding fathers agreed upon and created in their literary masterpieces of governance.
God help us...and God Bless America.
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