Insurrection
Rebellion, Civil Rights, and the Paradoxical State of Black Citizenship
by Hawa Allan
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Pub Date 4 Jan 2022 | Archive Date 31 Dec 2021
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Description
Long before the uprising at the Capitol, the threat of insurrection has held a mirror to America’s highest ideals and deepest fears.
The Insurrection Act of 1807—passed amid pervasive fears of slave rebellion—authorizes the president to deploy federal troops to quell domestic uprisings. Invoked during Reconstruction and the civil rights movement, the Act was deployed to enforce the promise of equal citizenship for Black Americans. But the Act has also authorized federal military intervention to suppress so-called race riots after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and during the 1992 Los Angeles rebellion; more recently, President Trump threatened to use the Act in response to the George Floyd racial justice protests.
The invocation of the Act to either enforce civil rights or suppress riots, lawyer and cultural critic Hawa Allan argues, reflects the enduring struggle to incorporate Black Americans as full citizens of the United States. She demonstrates how the Insurrection Act exposes America’s most enduring conflicts: over racial injustice, human rights, equal citizenship, and federal power.
About the Author:
Hawa Allan is an attorney and author whose work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Review of Books, Lapham's Quarterly, and the Baffler, among other publications.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781324003038 |
| PRICE | US$26.95 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
LaShanda C, Reviewer
Merriam-Webster defines insurrection as a violent attempt to take control of a government. Prior to January 6, the average American probably had only heard the word insurrection once or twice, let alone knew that there's an Insurrection Act. The Insurrection Act of 1907 gives the President of the United States to the authority to deploy the US military & National Guard units in certain situations. In this book, author Hawa Allan explores a historic review of the Insurrection Act. From its early use of combatting rebellion against slavery, US Presidents have used the Insurrection Act quite a few times in the past. Most recently, the Act has been used to restore order after civil unrest related to social injustices. Allan does an excellent job chronicling its use throughout the United States' history. Allan covers how presidents from Ulysses S. Grant to George W. Bush successfully used it. January 6 represented the one day in modern history where the Insurrection Act was the most powerful tool to protect our government. Yet, it laid dormant by then President Donald Trump.
I enjoyed reading this historical review of the Insurrection Act. For educators teaching Civics courses, this book would be a great read. It would open the door to several healthy discussions about our government.
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