United States Domestic Terrorism Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Introduction

It is impossible to trace the genesis of United States terrorist extremism to a specific exact date, though one can narrow it to the period when the country was fighting for its freedom from the British rule. During this period, organized groups used extremist actions to express their perceptions on certain issues regarding colonial rules and regulations enforced.

A good example for this period would be the infamous Boston Tea Party of 1773, where extremists rejected the Tea Act enforced by the British colonialists. The act was affecting the indigenous tea farmers where by they had to pay taxes to the colonialists with the exception of a single company – British East India.

The colonial government reacted to this act by enforcing measures that were a form of punishment to the population. The result was inevitable, but was not expected. This marked the start of the Great American Revolution. Thirteen states formed a single faction to fight off the British armed forces sent from various posts of their colonies to reestablish their dwindling rule.

Political Drivers behind Political Violence in the US over the past 200 years

The labour movement was most likely the first of political instruments that resulted in extremism violence. The then attorney general Mitchell Palmer was out to address spark criticism against communists in order to lead the citizenry to the First World War. The movement was definitely not for the war, leading to the use of force by the government.

It dispersed bureau agents to ensure that the completely communist related population did not enjoy their stay in the country. The agents mistreated and beat them up brutally, an act considered by the workers union as inhuman. This slowly grew into the First Red Scare, characterized by a wave of strikes by different labour factions throughout the country.

In the 1950s, fears were arrayed that communism was being entrenched deeper into the United States government system. This was during the period of the cold war. The communists strategically positioned spies at most, if not all of the powerful departments critical to governance. It was during this period, that the McCarthyism concept came up.

McCarthyism is the making of false accusations about an individual or group without the backing of facts and logical evidence. It came up after the then republican US Senator Joseph McCarthy. Senator McCarthy hated leftist extremists and everything they stood for (George & Wilcox, 1996, p. 44).

These include communism and socialism. Individuals who embraced McCarthyism then formed anti-communism movements that wrecked havoc to anyone suspected to be sharing communist sentiments.

The result was the unjust imprisonment of many innocent victims, displacements and tortures of suspects and the worst that was murder of many. This was clearly not, what McCarthy had in mind when giving his sentiments, as he regretted the result himself.

Left Wing and Right Wing Terrorism

According to the FBI (1996, p. 16), terrorist groups involve in three different forms, which are the Left Wing terrorism, Right Wing terrorism, and a new one that is the Special Interest terrorism. The latter consists of groups that seek to address certain special social misgivings that they consider unethical. A good example would be the animal rights issue, which has led to them attacking industries that handle fur.

Right Wing Terrorists are groups of extremists that involve in actions that seek to ‘liberate’ the public of the ‘bureaucracies’ that exist in the system of governance. The groups lobby for conservation of the environment – hence act against corporations that contaminate it even if their actions are licensed and are against actions by the government that ‘bind’ the people through legalities.

Being that anti-government, they lobby for the reduction in the size of government because the people fund it. They also stand against the taxation system as the government misuses the tax to enact policies that do not have the support of the people.

In another relation to their environmentalism, they are pro-life. They firmly stand against abortion and equate it to outright murder of an innocent child. It is due to this that a group known as Phineas Priesthood used a pipe bomb against the Planned Parenthood office in Washington in 1996.

Left Wing Terrorists are the most destructive of the three groups. It is in this group that the communists and socialists fall under. Though they have drastically reduced in number, they still pose the greatest threat to domestic security in the United States.

According to the FBI report (1996, p. 17), they see themselves as the group that will liberate the United States from the bureaucratic hindrances that are a result from capitalism. They conduct themselves by carrying out explosions in places that are significant to their cause i.e. federal buildings.

Conclusion

Regardless of the intentions, terrorism is still poses the greatest threat to peace and stability both in the United States and across the globe. It is the duty if individuals to work on fostering unity and sustainability. The world may not be perfect, but it is a lot better when one considers the fact that everyday, someone does something about it.

References

Federal Bureau of Investigations Terrorism in the United States: 1996. Washington, DC, Pp. 5, 16, 17.

George, J., & Wilcox, L. M. (1996). American Extremists. Prometheus Books, P. 44

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2019, June 7). United States Domestic Terrorism. https://ivypanda.com/essays/united-states-domestic-terrorism/

Work Cited

"United States Domestic Terrorism." IvyPanda, 7 June 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/united-states-domestic-terrorism/.

References

IvyPanda. (2019) 'United States Domestic Terrorism'. 7 June.

References

IvyPanda. 2019. "United States Domestic Terrorism." June 7, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/united-states-domestic-terrorism/.

1. IvyPanda. "United States Domestic Terrorism." June 7, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/united-states-domestic-terrorism/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "United States Domestic Terrorism." June 7, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/united-states-domestic-terrorism/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1