Abraham Lincoln’s Suspension of Habeas Corpus

1. Abraham Lincoln’s Suspension of Habeas Corpus Memory and Application during the War on Terror

2. Thesis • “The suspension of habeas corpus and indefinite detention of irregulars by the Lincoln Administration, particularly those involving the Supreme Court cases Ex Parte Merrymanand Ex Parte Milligan, served as an example for the wartime policy of the Bush Administration in terms of executive supremacy and extra constitutional necessity in wartime. “

3. Structure of Paper • Suspension of the Writ during the Civil War • Ex Parte Merryman • Ex Parte Milligan • Suspension during the War on Terror • Connection between Lincoln and Bush presidencies • Hamdi v. Rumsfeld

4. Merryman • Previous crises but now challenges of the Civil War • Context: mixed loyalties and tension in Maryland • Extraordinary actions in times of crisis • Executive authority in wartime

5. Milligan • Seditious Confederate actions behind Union lines • Court ruling ignored realities of war/reconstruction • Proper executive wartime action vs. vanguard of civil liberties against executive tyranny

6. Bush and Lincoln • Bush faced similar issues as did Lincoln • Bush willing to take drastic actions to defend nation as was Lincoln

7. Bush and Hamdi • U.S. citizen detained as a combatant • Pragmatism vs. textualism • Executive authority in detention • Wartime necessity weighed against freedom of citizens

8. Conclusion • Lincoln dealt with Merryman and Milligan in a similar way as Bush dealt with Hamdi • Executive Supremacy • Necessity in times of crisis