Crimes against the State: Sedition, Rebellion, and Treason since America's Founding

(Hardback)

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This work provides an authoritative survey of America's long and turbulent history of rebellions against laws and institutions of the state, ranging from violent acts of sedition and terrorism to acts of nonviolent civil disobedience against discriminatory or unjust laws. Crimes against the State is an even-handed and illuminating one-stop resource for understanding acts of rebellion against legal authorities and institutions and the motivations driving them. Special care is taken to differentiate between hostile acts and actors that seek to overthrow or otherwise damage the state and/or targeted demographic groups through violence (such "bad actors" as the January 6 Capitol mob and bombers of abortion clinics) and acts and actors that seek to defy, reform, or improve laws and institutions of the state through nonviolent action (such "good actors" as activists in the civil rights movement). Within these pages, readers will 1) learn how to differentiate between sedition, insurrection, treason, domestic terrorism, espionage, and other acts meant to injure or overthrow the government; 2) gain a deeper understanding of laws, policies, and events that have aroused violent or nonviolent opposition; 3) gain insights into perspectives and motivations of individuals and organizations; and 4) learn about state responses to these challenges and threats, from martial law to criminal prosecutions to new laws and reforms.

Author Bio

James Beckman, JD, LLM, is Professor of Legal Studies at the University of Central Florida, USA Eric Merriam, JD, LLM, is Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida, USA, where he is appointed jointly to the legal studies department and the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs.