Neutrality Act of 1818 explained

Shorttitle:Neutrality Act of 1818
Longtitle:An Act in addition to the “Act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States,” and to repeal the acts therein mentioned.
Enacted By:15th
Effective Date:June 5, 1794
Signedpresident:James Monroe
Signeddate:April 20, 1818

The Neutrality Act of 1818 was a United States law that repealed and replaced the Neutrality Act of 1794 and Neutrality Act 1817. The Act largely amended the previous two acts by repealing and replacing such Acts instead of directly amending the two Acts.

Evolution

The Neutrality Act of 1818 was updated in 1838 during the 1837 Rebellions in Canada.

The Neutrality Act of 1818 was eventually codified as et seq., including, among other sections.

Recent applications

In 1981, nine men involved in Operation Red Dog were sentenced to three years in prison pursuant to the successor statute of the Neutrality Act of 1818; they had planned to overthrow the government of Dominica.

In the 2007 Laotian coup d'état conspiracy allegation, the United States government alleged after a sting operation that a group of conspirators planned to violate the successor statute of the Neutrality Act of 1818 by overthrowing the government of Communist Laos.[1] The United States Government has since dropped all charges against these defendants.

In May 2016 four United States residents were convicted of violating the successor statute of the Neutrality Act of 1818 for their role in the 2014 Gambian coup d'état attempt.[2]

Notes and References

  1. News: Weiner. Tim. Gen. Vang Pao's Last War. The New York Times Magazine. 2008-05-11. live. 2021-07-03. https://archive.today/20090410144843/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/magazine/11pao-t.html. 2009-04-10.
  2. Web site: Four Americans Sentenced in Failed Gambian Coup. NBC News. Alex. Johnson. 2016-05-13. 2021-07-03. live. https://archive.today/20210704024100/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/four-americans-sentenced-failed-gambian-coup-n573371. 2021-07-04.