One of the oldest debates in the United States is the struggle to balance liberty and security. Throughout history, there have been instances where freedoms were suspended – whether for better or worse – because the United States was in a time of crisis. The Quasi-War with the French, the Civil War, and World War I were events in which presidents found themselves under fire for controversially suspending certain constitutional rights. Should certain freedoms be restricted in times of crisis? This debate has always been very controversial because there has never been a majority one way or another. There have always been people who suspended freedoms to preserve security and, at the same time, there have always been people who believed that freedom was ultimately more important than security. Quasi-war During the In the country's adolescence, the United States faced its first scenario when the suspension of certain rights seemed necessary: ​​quasi-war. In the late 1700s, leaders of the French Revolution were frustrated with the United States and signed an order allowing the French to seize American merchant ships. President John Adams sent a delegation to Paris in an effort to maintain peaceful relations with the French. Much to the mortification of the United States, Tallyrand, the French foreign minister, refused to meet with this delegation and instead sent three agents to meet them. These agents (later known as Agents XYZ) informed the delegation that the United States was to provide France with a low-interest loan and pay a substantial bribe to Talleyrand. (Office of the Historian) When Adams presented this correspondence before Congress, the Federalists cried war on the F...... middle of paper ......itution, there is an allowance for the suspension of habeas corpus if there is an example of rebellion, which the civil war was. However, the policies of Adams and Wilson openly defied the Constitution. While it's true that they did it with good intentions, it's like a poor person robbing a gas station to get food; it may be with good intentions, but it is still a mistake. The Constitution is what we, as Americans, consider our inviolable laws. In our eyes, the Constitution is almost sacred. So when presidents decide that their laws can override what we believe is right, it diminishes the value of the Constitution. I believe that in times of crisis or war, when national survival is at stake, respect for our Constitution is more imperative than ever, to demonstrate to American citizens that our government will deliver on what it has promised us..