Habeas Corpus Decoded

Lincoln suspended habeas corpus without congressional approval, jailed thousands of political opponents without trial, shut down newspapers critical of the war, and sent the military against civilian protesters in the New York Draft Riots.

Was this tyranny or necessity? Lincoln argued the Constitution wasn’t a suicide pact, that preserving the Union justified extraordinary measures. His expansion of executive power set a precedent that is still debated. Later wartime presidents have invoked his example to justify their own.