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Traitors In History |
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Treason, by definition, is a 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. Article III, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution says t hat "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort."
Throughout history, there have been many famous traitors. The purpose of this web site is to give some insight into why a person would chose to betray his country rather than show allegiance to it and to show how this betrayal affected that person and the community or country involved. Rather than include a long list of traitors such as Benedict Arnold, Aaron Burr, Simon Girty, Henri Philippe Petain, or even Jefferson Davis, we have chosen to discuss three treasonous acts from different periods of history. The traitors we have chosen are Alcibiades, Guy Fawkes, and the Rosenburgs.
Alcibiades, a member of ancient Greek society, felt betrayed by the members of his society and sought revenge. Eventually, his alliegance to his home state arose again, and he returned to aid his native society. Guy Fawkes, hoped to improve his society by destroying the present form of government and creating a new government. His motives showed his strong alliegance to his community. The Rosenburgs, members of the Twentieth Century, were accused of selling atomic information to the Soviet Union. The accusations against the Rosenburgs affected Americans' alliegance to their judicial system. Many believed that the Rosenburgs were guilty, while others believed they did not receive a fair trial.
By clicking on the links listed below, you can further explore these three traitors:
