Comment & Debate
The Honorable Frank Williams. “Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties in Wartime”. Heritage Foundation. May 5, 2004 – “Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus, a procedural method by which one who is imprisoned can be immediately released if his imprisonment is found not to conform to law. With suspension of the writ, this immediate judicial review of detention becomes unavailable. This suspension triggered the most heated and serious constitutional disputes of the Lincoln Administration. … Keep in mind that the Constitution permits the suspension of the writ in ‘cases of rebellion and when the public safety’ requires it. But it is unclear who has the power, Congress or the President.”