Final answer:
Leonard considered actions such as overthrowing the government and aiding the enemy as treason, rebellion, and anarchy. Loyalists faced severe consequences including confiscation of property or the death penalty. These measures demonstrated the tension between maintaining order and upholding ideals of liberty during times of conflict.
Step-by-step explanation:
The actions by “partisans of liberty,” which Leonard considered "treason," "rebellion," and "anarchy," were those associated with the Democratic leadership's supposed plots to overthrow the government, according to Republican accusations. Specifically, the Sons of Liberty were accused of conspiring to create diversions in the Northwest, which would force the Union to redirect its troops from the South. This was presented in the media and pamphlets with dramatic titles, including 'Copperhead Conspiracy in the Northwest: An Exposé of the Treasonable Order of the Sons of Liberty'.
Similarly, during the War for Independence, patriots viewed loyalists or Tories as enemies, and states could enact severe punishments for those who engaged in overt loyalist activities, defining them as treason. This could result in the death penalty, though more common was confiscation of property, which also provided revenue for the government. Actions taken against dissenters underlined the severity of consequences during times of political upheaval and war, as seen through government responses and civil liberties being curtailed, such as the suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War.
These acts of treason and subsequent consequences also highlighted the conflicts between ideals of liberty and the exigencies of war and political unity, raising ongoing philosophical questions about the necessity and acceptability of violence and revolution for change.