Treason

I

Introduction

Treason, criminal offense involving the attempt, by overt acts, to overthrow the government to which the offender owes allegiance, or to betray the state to a foreign power.

II

English Law

Two grades of treason existed in early English law: high treason, which was directed against the Crown, and petty treason, which consisted of a crime against a subject, such as a wife killing her husband, or a servant murdering his master.

In early English statutes the more serious offenses were compassing or imagining the death of the sovereign, adhering to the sovereign's enemies and giving them aid and comfort, and levying war against the sovereign. Statutes were changed from time to time between the reign of Edward III and that of Elizabeth I. After the Restoration the Stuart judges used “constructive treason” to discourage resistance to the Crown. They extended the offenses to include words as well as deeds. In 1663, a writer was convicted of treason for writing an article suggesting that the king was accountable to the people.

III

Treason in U.S. History

Article III, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution follows the English law: “Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.”

---

---

In the early days of the American colonies the codes defining treason used such terms as desertion, mutiny, sedition, attempts to subvert or alter government, and “public rebellion.” Toward the end of the 17th century colonial law followed more closely the English law of treason. During the French and Indian War some colonies considered trading with the enemy treasonous. Massachusetts in 1706 declared “correspondence” with the enemy to be treason. During the 1680s, Virginia attempted to punish the destruction of young tobacco plants, in order to control prices, as treason. In colonial days the penalty for conviction of treason followed the English law, providing for attainder, forfeiture, or loss of property, and the loss of all rights of inheritance. The sentence included the practice of hanging and quartering. Often, however, the colonial governor received a reversal of the judgment from the Crown.

Just before the American Revolution, efforts were made to prosecute certain leaders for treason. Those who participated in the Boston Tea Party and in burning the ship Gaspée in Rhode Island were suspect. Convictions could not be obtained in the colonies, because juries would not convict and witnesses could not be found even after offers were made to give cash rewards and full pardons to informers against those who burned the Gaspée.

During the American Revolution, charges of treason were brought against American supporters of the British government. Congress authorized the death penalty for American soldiers who supported King George III. Several men were hanged for enlisting soldiers in the king's army and for various other violations, such as furnishing supplies to the British. Many convicted traitors were pardoned.

The most famous treasonous activity of the Revolution was the planned surrender to the British of the fort at West Point, New York, by the American general Benedict Arnold. His plan was discovered in 1780 when the British soldier John André was captured with documents detailing the surrender.

In 1790, Congress fixed the penalty for treason as death by hanging. The accused was to enjoy certain procedural rights: a copy of the indictment; a list of jurors and witnesses at least three days before trial; representation by counsel; compulsory process for witnesses on behalf of the accused; and preemptory challenge of 35 members of the jury panel.

Perhaps the most celebrated American trial for treason in the 19th century was that of the statesman Aaron Burr, who completed his term as vice president in March 1805. He was unpopular with many persons because he had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. In conspiracy with others, Burr proposed a grandiose scheme for establishing a kingdom west of the Appalachians, raiding Spanish lands, and settling the lands in the Washita Valley. Burr was tried for treason but was acquitted after a long trial. The case turned partly on the point that Burr was not present when the one overt act that was charged took place.

Few cases of treason occurred in U.S. courts for more than a century after Burr's trial. During the American Civil War, no judicial determination was made as to whether or not leaders and supporters of the Confederacy were guilty of treason against the U.S. Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, was indicted, but he never came to trial.

In the 20th century, several Americans were accused of treasonous acts during World War II. Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino, a Japanese American born in Los Angeles and known as Tokyo Rose, conducted broadcasts in English to American servicemen in the Pacific area. She was convicted of treason and served a long prison term. Mildred Elizabeth Gillars of Portland, Maine, known as Axis Sally, served a sentence for broadcasting for the Germans.

	More from Encarta
	•  7 tips for funding an online degree •  How to succeed in the fashion industry without being a top designer •  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain