The Civil War
Infringements and Limitations:
- Suspension of habeas corpus
- Censorship of press
- 1st Amendment
- 6th Amendment
Background
The Civil War was one of the first times in United States history that people's rights were revoked in war. As a result of a half-century of turmoil between the North and South, the war started in 1861 when southern states seceded from the Union because Abraham Lincoln was elected as president. Southerners had feared Lincoln would abolish slavery which caused them to secede. Because not all slave states seceded, there were many Confederate sympathizers still within the Union.
To prevent any suspected supporters from Lincoln suspended the right of habeas corpus, which the right to a be brought before a judge after one's arrest, to efficiently lock up confederate sympathizers. Lincoln was also responsible for "...the greatest amount of newspaper suppression in the nation's history" as American journalism historian David Bulla said. In his term, over 300 Confederate newspapers were shut down. There were also more than 14,000 political prisoners arrested by his administration.