The Ugly History Behind Trump’s New Favorite Law
Meet the Alien Enemies Act, one of America’s worst ideas
In 1798, the United States fought a weird little naval conflict against France that ended up having big consequences.
Called the Quasi-War because Congress never issued a declaration of war; it originated because America didn’t want to pay its debts. France had loaned the Americans a lot of money during their revolution against Great Britain, but, when France had its own revolution a few years later, American leaders argued that the “France” they owed money to no longer existed, which meant they didn’t have to pay. The new French government, caught up in its own wars and desperate for money, did not agree with this assessment. So, for a couple of years, French and American ships tangled in Caribbean and Atlantic waters.
Not a big deal, right? A footnote in history that you may remember from high school because of its weird name or the fact that it was linked to the “XYZ Affair,” another strangely-named event from the country’s early history.
However, the Quasi-War, though not a major conflict, set several important precedents for our young nation. Because Congress stopped short of declaring war (instead, it passed a law authorizing limited naval combat), and the courts did not insist on a…
