Civil War History - Secession and PoliticsWas it Slavery, or was it States Rights? Perhaps it was the election of Lincoln? What were the real reasons for Southern Secession and what were the political issues in this time of war? Find your answers here in the Secession and Politics Disussion.
While some are familiar with the suspension of habeas corpus in the U.S. during the Civil War, the suspension of habeas corpus was allowed by the Confederate Constitution and done so, a number of times, by Jefferson Davis.
Constitution of the Confederate States of America
Sec. 9 (3) The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
PROCLAMATION.
[FEBRUARY 27, 1862.]
Whereas the Congress of the Confederate States has by law vested in the President the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in cities in danger of attack by the enemy:
Now therefore I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, do hereby proclaim that martial law is extended over the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth and the surrounding country to the distance of 10 miles from said cities, and all civil jurisdiction and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus are hereby declared to be sus-pended within the limits aforesaid.
This proclamation will remain in force until otherwise ordered
In faith whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at the city of Richmond, on this twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Davs also made sure some pro-Union Southern 'Tories' were hung in Eastern TN. The problem that people had with Lincoln's suspension of the writ was that it was a power vested in the Congress. This is one of those areas where the power of the Executive and the power of the Legislative branch comes to a head.
Congress of course winds up ratifying Lincoln's action. And while it was technically an unconstitutional act, it clearly showed an inherent weakness in the Constitution; after all it makes absolutely no sense to wait for Congressional action in the face of an emergency. The Constitution does not demand impotence.
Now we have things like the National Emergencies Act and the War Powers Act which specifically permits the President to act within a specified window of time subject to Congressional approval. Much more flexible and of course we'll be debating the War Powers act for some time.
Mark Neely did a rather ground-breaking book on CSA suspensions a few years ago. Can't remember the name at the moment, and I'm away from my library. But there was suspension in the CSA--as well as some other executive hanky panky.
Well worth reading for current Union and Confederate advocates--although I get the feeling that our Confederate brethren and cisterns won't be breaking their necks trying to read it.
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I don't think either Davis or Lincoln were inclined to be tyrannical. The conditions for winning the war made them act in ways they wouldn't have in peacetime.
I don't think either Davis or Lincoln were inclined to be tyrannical. The conditions for winning the war made them act in ways they wouldn't have in peacetime.
Lincoln was a lawyer and thought like one. He was probably one of the most "strict constructionalist" Presidents we ever had -- even when he went about bending the Constitution a bit. He always gave clear and concise arguments for any action he took that was questionable under the Constitution of law. You might not agree with his methods or his arguments, but he was very clear-cut on them.
Regards,
Tim
__________________ "Let us, then, consider all attempts to weaken this Union, by maintaining that each state is separately and individually independent, as a species of political heresy, which can never benefit us, but may bring on us the most serious distresses."
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina, 1740-1824, Revolutionary War soldier, one of the authors of the US Constitution in 1787, speaking at the South Carolina Ratifying Convention in 1788.
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Confederacy and Habeas Corpus 
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