The American Civil War not only proved to be the country’s deadliest war but also precipitated one of the greatest constitutional crises in the history of the United States. President Lincoln is revered by many Americans today as a man of great moral principle who was responsible for both preventing the Union’s dissolution as well as helping to trigger the movement to abolish slavery. In retrospect, modern historians find it difficult to question the legitimacy of Lincoln’s actions as President. A more precise review of President Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War, however, reveals that many, if not the majority, of his actions were far from legitimate on constitutional and legal grounds. Moreover, his true political motives reveal his …show more content…
One of President Lincoln’s most notable infringements was his suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Within months of taking the presidential oath, Lincoln ordered the suspension of habeas corpus, citing “supra-constitutional reasons for taking unilateral executive action.” Attorney General Edward Bates’ defense of Lincoln’s actions regarding habeas corpus in which he refers to it as a privilege rather than a guaranteed civil liberty serves as basis for proving the illegitimacy of this act. If the writ of habeas corpus, which protects citizens from unlawful imprisonment, is viewed in the manner that Bates (and Lincoln for that matter) refers to it, one of the most basic constitutional liberties of a right to trial can easily be deprived and can very well devolve into despotism later …show more content…
Lincoln justified his action via the suspension clause, claiming that Congress was in recess and therefore could not fulfill its duty at the time. The Constitution itself specifically references habeas corpus and acknowledges that it can be suspended “in cases of rebellion,” however, as Chief Justice Roger Taney asserted in the ruling of Ex parte Merryman (1861), the writ of habeas corpus falls exclusively in the hands of Congress in Section 9 of Article 1“without the slightest reference to the executive branch.” Additionally, Article 6 provides all persons accused the “right to a speedy and public trial by impartial jury of the state.” Both provisions, Justice Taney stated, are in “language too clear to be misunderstood by anyone.” The ruling concluded by declaring that President Lincoln’s actions in suspending habeas corpus in Maryland were unconstitutional as he did so without proper congressional authorization. According to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Maryland, Lincoln had overstepped his appropriate executive authority as
In Mark R. Levin’s book, THE LIBERTY AMENDMENTS, he proposes amendments to the Constitution called “The Liberty Amendments” (Levin 18). His hope for producing this book of proposed amendments is to “spur interest in and, ultimately, support for the state convention process.” (Levin 18). Levin states he undertook this project because he believes the way that the Constitution, as originally structured, “is the necessity and urgency of restoring constitutional republicanism and preserving the civil society from the growing authoritarianism of federal Leviathan” (Levin 1). Levin believes that the Congress operates in a way that was not intended by the Framers of our country, and has become oppressive to its people in its laws (Levin 3). He also
Before taking office, each president is required to take an oath in which they state, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” (634) However, of all the forty-four presidents who have served America, no other president in American history has faced the enormous challenges and national crisis as did Lincoln. Throughout his presidency, Lincoln endured immense challenges associated with the Civil War. In fact, the Civil War is referred to “our greatest national trauma.” (632) Lincoln’s presidential election unraveled the tensions between the North and South, precipitating a prolonged and bloody war. However, Lincoln’s audacious leadership, determination, and character in a period of national crisis made him America’s greatest
According to the Webster-dictionary The First Amendment is an amendment to the Constitution of the United States guaranteeing the right of free expression; includes freedom of assembly and freedom of the press and freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Since the first Amendment was written by our founding fathers and is part of our constitution it should never be violated. Being able to say and express what one thinks without been afraid of going to jail. In the essays “First Amendment Junkie” by Susan Jacoby and “Let’s Put Pornography back in the closet” by Susan Brownmiller both writes about the First Amendment is when one can express them. Jacoby and Brownmiller both write about pornography and the first amendment using pathos and ethos in their writing. However, Jacoby’s essay is more reliable because she uses ethos to provide credible resources, as well as use pathos to appeal to her credibility.
In a world where terrorism, war, and economic instability are ever looming threats it’s not a wonder why the limits on the freedom of the individual can come into question. This is especially true when the country where these limits are brought into question is one of the world’s leading powers in: democracy, economics, social welfare, military force, and foreign politics in general. This country, of course, is the United States. Unfortunately, even with the country’s democratically centered government, there is still a debate on whether Americans have enough protections for civil liberties or not. A few key areas of argument on civil liberties and hopefully provide enough information to the reader so that he/she may deduce an educated opinion as to whether Americans have enough protection for civil liberties or not.
“The law on the side of freedom is of great advantage only when there is power to make that law respected”. This quote comes from Fredrick Douglas’ book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, written in 1845. Fredrick Douglas who was born into slavery in 1818 had no understanding of freedom. However, his words shed light on the state of our country from the time he made this statement, but can be traced back fifty-eight years earlier to when the Constitution was drafted and debated over by fifty-five delegates in an attempt to create a document to found the laws of a new country upon. However, to eradicate the antiquated and barbaric system of slaver would be a bold step to set the nation apart, but it would take a strong argument and a courageous move by someone or a group to abolish what had enslaved thousands of innocent people within the borders of America for centuries. There was an opportunity for the law to be written within the Constitution, which would support this freedom Fredrick Douglas alluded to. However, the power, which controlled this law, would as Douglas stated, “make that law respected”.
Therefore Hamilton states that bills of rights “have no application to constitutions professedly founded upon the power of the people,” and that under the constitution “the people surrender nothing, and as they retain everything of the state constitutions do not contain one either. He believes that the Constitution, as it is, effectively includes a bill of rights. The constitution contained various provisions in favor of particular privileges and rights. Provisions such as the power to impeach, writ of habeas corpus, the allowance for no bill of attainder or ex post facto law, no granting of title of nobility, trials that shall be by a jury in the state in which the crime was committed, and that punishment for treason will not extend to family members of the person convicted of that crime. To Hamilton, these privileges and rights amount to a bill of rights.
"Treason, Sedition and Civil Rights in the U. S. Law." Congressional Digest 14.10 (1935): 227-
The Bill of Rights or the first 10 amendments to the Constitution was proposed to Congress in 1789 by James Madison in response to the Anti- Federalist movement that lobbied for an extended amount of rights that would further safeguard liberty. The 4th amendment in particular was drafted to acknowledge the abuse of the writ of assistance, a “search warrant” issued by the British government to search boats that were thought to contain smuggled material in Colonial America. The 4th amendment can be broken down into 3 parts: what activities are considered to be a “search” or a “seizure”; what is a probable cause for a “search” and “seizure” and finally, how violations should be dealt with. The evolution of the 4th amendment is long and tumultuous, starting from what it meant at time of drafting, to the controversy over different interpretations in modern times. Through all the controversies and the debate over the meaning of the 4th amendment, the essence is always the same: to protect man’s liberty.
“Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.” Abraham Lincoln made this statement in referring to the emancipation of the slaves. Even though the statement has nothing to deal with the Fourth Amendment, or the Search and Seizure laws within the Constitution, what is stated still brings about a good point relating to the Constitution. The fact being brought out of this quote is that the Constitution’s purpose is to safeguard Americans’ liberties. Along with great points brings questions regarding the quote. Should individuals interfere with the Constitution, more specifically the amendments and rights pertaining to search and seizure laws? In today’s society, the current laws pertaining to search and seizure allow too much protection for the criminal and not enough recourse for the investigating officer.
we had no legally protected rights of free speech in anything like the form we
For instance, if there were a terrorist in the United States planning to blow up a government building, but you could not suspend the writ of habeas corpus, it would take too long to make a case out of it, and there could have been a preventable tragedy. It could be easier to just have probable cause to keep them from harming anyone, but it defies everything our country was built on. President Lincoln had said, during his presidency, “the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the country may require it” (Source B). However, if a corrupted, but influential president in the legislative branch, decides to “go to war”, he could get away with many arrests that he could not have before they had “went to war”. Justice O’Connor believes in the suspension of the writ, as long as they are “given a meaningful opportunity to contest the factual basis for that detention” (Source E), meaning that they must have at least probable cause. Yet there could be many loophole opportunities in this, which is why the ability to suspend the writ Habeas Corpus should be
The book raises the importance of, and questions, the writ of habeas corpus. Carter used a writ of habeas corpus to get a federal trial. Many question the legality of Carter going into federal jurisdiction, when his case should have been heard before the Supreme Court of New Jersey. It was a gamble, but the federal judge gave fair justice to Carter and Artis. The State of New Jersey appealed the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which upheld the District Court’s ruling.
Schultz, David, and John R. Vile. The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America. 710-712. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale Virtual Reference Library, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. .
[4] Hickok, Eugene Jr., ed. The Bill of Rights: Original Meaning and Current Understanding. Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1991
It began when Alexander Hamilton was also in favor of this law due to the tyrannical schemes of the governments and its people. The Writ of Habeas Corpus had gone through a very long process and revision within the past centuries. It all began on April 27, 1861 when President Abraham Lincoln demanded a suspension to this law by taking an executive action. However, it did not last long because of the poor jurisdictions. Hence, it was ratified by the Congress after President Abraham Lincoln requested it. This led to the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act of 1863, which enabled the release of political prisoners. In addition, the suspension act also denied the right and security of an individual, which lead to being held without indefinite trial. When President Andrew Johnson became president in 1865, he revoked the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act of