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A Private American Collection
Suspending the writ of Habeas Corpus
Abraham Lincoln, 20 June 1861
Details
Suspending the writ of Habeas Corpus
Abraham Lincoln, 20 June 1861
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM (1809-1865). Letter signed "Abraham Lincoln" as President to "The Lieut. General, Commanding the Armies of the United States," countersigned by WILLIAM SEWARD (1801-1872), [Washington,] 20 June 1861.
Two pages, 203 x 128mm (light toning at top margin, toned on verso along vertical crease).
Lincoln authorizes the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in a case of treason, defying the Taney Court. "You or any officer you may designate will, in your discretion, suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus so far as may relate to Major Chase lately of the Army of the United States now alledged to be guilty of treasonable practices against the government." By Article 1 of the Constitution, the right of Habeas Corpus was only to be suspended in cases of rebellion or invasion, when the public safety demanded it; Lincoln authorized its suspension at the beginning of the Civil War, and continued to do so despite the 1861 decision of a circuit court in Ex parte Merryman, which ruled that Congress, not the President, had the power of suspension. (Bullock)
Provenance: Anderson Galleries, 10 November 1932, lot 61 — Roy R. Barkley (Christie's, New York, 19 December 1986, lot 117).
Abraham Lincoln, 20 June 1861
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM (1809-1865). Letter signed "Abraham Lincoln" as President to "The Lieut. General, Commanding the Armies of the United States," countersigned by WILLIAM SEWARD (1801-1872), [Washington,] 20 June 1861.
Two pages, 203 x 128mm (light toning at top margin, toned on verso along vertical crease).
Lincoln authorizes the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in a case of treason, defying the Taney Court. "You or any officer you may designate will, in your discretion, suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus so far as may relate to Major Chase lately of the Army of the United States now alledged to be guilty of treasonable practices against the government." By Article 1 of the Constitution, the right of Habeas Corpus was only to be suspended in cases of rebellion or invasion, when the public safety demanded it; Lincoln authorized its suspension at the beginning of the Civil War, and continued to do so despite the 1861 decision of a circuit court in Ex parte Merryman, which ruled that Congress, not the President, had the power of suspension. (Bullock)
Provenance: Anderson Galleries, 10 November 1932, lot 61 — Roy R. Barkley (Christie's, New York, 19 December 1986, lot 117).
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Julia Jones
Associate Specialist