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.

While Roosevelt justified many of his programs and government expansions by using the Great Depression, the severity of World War II allowed him to exercise government economic control in ways that had just begun under Lincoln. The government operation of factories, along with food rationing and strict cultural control was accepted as necessary. He accelerated many technological advances and saved the free world, but the powers he exercised during the war never shrunk back to what would be proper for peace time. The military industrial complex was there to stay, and would even lobby for future wars, creating a vicious cycle. Roosevelt’s picture of the federal government as a provider and protector bled into all areas of life and even grew after the War through the welfare system and the repeated egregious foreign interventions in the second half of the 20th century.

The 21st century began with the Bush presidency stripping Americans of the rights to privacy in the name of terrorism prevention. Just as the Internet was coming into its own, the government found a way to police and control it. Conveniently timed wars have allowed the Federal government to extend its power to whichever area it feels it wants to control. Part of this is the natural desire for safety during war, but the inability to relinquish that level of control speaks to a much deeper lack of accountability within our government. There is no fundamental principle other than government greed that guarantees war will create a new status quo. Wars with other countries that threaten our way of life are necessary, but their restructuring effect on government must be mitigated. Wars will never cease, and the most exceptional country to ever exist will often have reason to engage in them, but we must never resign ourselves to the Federal overreach that is always waiting to happen.