At the beginning of the Civil War, as the number of dead increased daily, a force of opposition to the war efforts began to intensify in the Congress and in the voices of the American people. Abraham Lincoln, in an effort to silence the Southern sympathizers, or “Copperheads,” suspended the writ of habeas corpus, a clause of the Constitution that forbids unlawful imprisonment.
The suspension of this clause was first mandated only in the state of Maryland due to its proximity to the capital, but in September of 1861 Lincoln ordered the suspension within all the Union states. One of the first to be arrested due to the suspension was John Merryman, a prominent Baltimore businessman and farmer. Merryman’s attorneys called on Chief Justice Roger B. Taney to hear the case and free Merryman from the prison at Fort McHenry. The details of Merryman’s case were well-documented by the Baltimore Sun newspaper. An “Unconstitutional” Act? The Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus May 25, 1861:
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Based on the rights guaranteed in the Constitution, did Lincoln commit an unconstitutional act by suspending the writ of habeas corpus?
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