Insecurity and Minority Groups in the Us

Insecurity and Minority Groups in the U.S.

There have been many times in the past when Americans have felt the need to compensate for some international insecurities that have come about. Foreign affairs are important in American history, but there is an inclination to oppress domestic minorities because we felt intimidated by them. Damage has been done by racially profiling people that belong to these certain minority groups. In American culture, there is a tendency to react with the insecurity caused by a foreign threat by using the law to reduce the insecurity caused by minority groups within the U.S.

During an early period of American history there was drastic democratic revolution against the French, and the hostility against them emboldened the decision to pass the Alien Act of 1798. In America there was tremendous dispute between the Federalists and the Republicans during a presidential election. The social tension in the U.S. was at an all time high. The conflict was aggravated by the war in Europe which was trying to stop the French from spreading the revolution. The Federalists in America, who were more aristocratic, wanted to maintain the social order, while the Republicans, who were on the side of the French, were seeking more egalitarian order. The Federalists victory emboldened the decision to pass the laws against the French in the U.S. Irons stresses the point that the law was passed for the protection of the Americans against the French: “The Alien Act allowed the president to direct the deportation of ‘all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States’…” (Irons 98). Before he passed the laws, President Adams tried to smooth things out between the U.S. and France by sending a delegation to negotiate a treaty that would keep the U.S. neutral in the conflict, but when the proposal was treated badly, the hatred toward the French got worse. The Federalists primarily used these laws to ensure...