"The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties"

For a Civil War seminar I had in grad school, we had to read a book a week and report on it. One of the most interesting books I read was Mark E. Neely's The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties, since it documents one of the most overlooked aspects of Lincoln's presidency: the suspension of the writ of habeus corpus.

I'm posting this summary for several reasons... 1) I love Civil War history, especially anything Lincoln-related; 2) I can't think of anything else I want to write about at the moment; and 3) I'm tired of seeing graffiti of "R.I.P. Habeus Corpus 1776-2001" or whenever people seem to think that President Bush suspended the writ, because those people need to study up on their history (which they can conveniently do so by reading this short review).

In his book The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties, Mark E. Neely seeks to describe the constitutional polices of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, particularly the president’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. In his introduction, Neely presents his thesis: “Rather than continue the fruitless debate over the constitutionality of Lincoln’s acts, this book will examine instead the practical impact on civil liberties of the policies Lincoln developed to save the Union,” (xi).

Upon hearing news of the Confederate forces firing upon Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861, the restriction of civil liberties in the state of Maryland became a pressing issue for the Lincoln Administration. President Lincoln first suspended the writ of habeas corpus in a public proclamation on May 10, 1861, authorizing the Commander of the Forces of the United States on the Florida coast “to permit no person to exercise any office or authority upon the Islands of Key West, the Tortugas and Santa Rosa, which may be inconsistent with the laws & constitution of the United States. . . [and] to suspend there the writ of Habeas Corpus and to remove from the vicinity of the United States fortresses all dangerous or suspected persons,” (9). This was met with some anger from America citizens, some of whom declared that the right to suspend the writ was given only to Congress, not the President. By fall of 1862, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus had extended to St. Louis, railroad and telegraph lines in Missouri, and a stretch of land between Washington, DC, and Bangor, Maine, where Union troop movement took place.

Throughout the war, martial law was put into place in various states, such as Missouri, where military arrests of civilians outnumbered those of any other state. Federal authorities had developed different classes of prisoners taken: “prisoners of war” were captured members of the Confederate army or navy; “United States prisoners” were members of the Union forces that had been arrested for crimes committed, such as theft or murder; and “prisoners of state” were civilians that were arrested under martial law. Neely believes that the terms were often used interchangeably due to rushed or careless processing jobs, and stated that “discriminating soldiers from civilians was perhaps the central problem of Union authorities in this state torn by guerrilla warfare,” (45).

Another example of civil liberties being restricted was the suppression of the New York newspaper, the World. On May 18, 1864, the editors of the World published a fake presidential proclamation that called for a day of fasting and prayer as well as a new draft of 400,000 men. Later that day, President Lincoln “ordered the arrest of the editors, proprietors, and publishers” and had their offices seized by the military (104). One of the most controversial aspects of the suspension of habeas corpus was the rampant anti-Semitism throughout the country. The religion of people who were detained under suspicion of treasonous behavior was never noted unless they were Jewish (likewise, race was never noted unless the person was black), and General Order No. 11 was issued “expelling ‘The Jews, as a class…from the Department’ because they were ‘violating…Department orders,’” (108). There were also cases of torture being inflicted upon prisoners of state suspected of supporting the Confederacy. Throughout the rest of the book, Neely cites numbers and statistics of people affected by the restriction of civil rights, as well as commenting on several well-known cases, such as Ex parte Milligan and Vallindigham.

Neely concludes his book with a discussion on the historiography of the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War, citing various publications arguing both sides of the topic. He states that if such a situation were to happen again in the United States, the “government would probably be as ill-prepared to define the legal situation as it was in 1861,” (235).

So there you have it, one of America's most beloved presidents, suspending citizens' civil liberties in a way that would get Bush (or any other president, for that matter) impeached. Oh Abe, I still adore you. :)

I couldn't really think of any Lincoln-related recipes for this post, so I'm going to post a Kentucky recipe. After all, Kentucky is Lincoln's home state... not Illinois! This recipe was created in Louisville at the Brown Hotel. I hadn't heard of it until a few days ago, but apparently it's quite popular in some places. While you're reflecting on all those wonderful civil liberties you have as an American citizen, chow down on a Hot Brown:

Ingredients

- 4 oz. Butter

- Flour to make a Roux (about 6 tablespoons)

- 3 - 3 1/2 cups Milk

- 1 Beaten Egg

- 6 tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese

- 1 oz. Whipped Cream (optional)

- Salt and Pepper to Taste

- Slices of Roast Turkey

- 8-12 Slices of Toast (may be trimmed)

- Extra Parmesan for Topping

- 8-12 Strips of Fried Bacon

Directions

1. Melt butter and add enough flour to make a reasonably thick roux (enough to absorb all of the butter).

2. Add milk and Parmesan cheese. Add egg to thicken sauce, but do not allow sauce to boil. Remove from heat. Fold in whipped cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. For each Hot Brown, place two slices of toast on a metal (or flameproof) dish. Cover the toast with a liberal amount of turkey.

4. Pour a generous amount of sauce over the turkey and toast. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.

5. Place entire dish under a broiler until the sauce is speckled brown and bubbly. Remove from broiler, cross two pieces of bacon on top, and serve immediately.

This recipe is from the Brown Hotel's website. I haven't tried a Hot Brown yet, but I definitely intend to. :)