John Merryman, a Confederate sympathizer arrested in Maryland, challenged President Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, presiding over a circuit court, ordered Merryman’s release and stated that only Congress, not the president, could take such an action. Lincoln’s message to Congress defended his decision and requested congressional authorization and funding.
I decided that we have a case of rebellion, and that the public safety does require the qualified suspension…of the writ of habeas corpus, which I authorized to be made. Now it is insisted that Congress, and not the executive, is vested with this power—But the Constitution itself, is silent as to which, or who, is to exercise the power…
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
President Abraham Lincoln's handwritten draft of his Special Message to Congress, July 4, 1861
Response to Rebellion
In April 1861, Confederate forces attacked U.S. troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, plunging the country into civil war. Moving quickly against the insurrection, President Abraham Lincoln called up the militia and suspended the writ of habeas corpus—a legal order enabling an individual to seek release from unlawful detention. In suspending that privilege, Lincoln exercised an authority constitutionally reserved for Congress. Lincoln then called the entire Congress into extraordinary session, where he sought congressional approval of his actions.
John Merryman, a Confederate sympathizer arrested in Maryland, challenged President Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, presiding over a circuit court, ordered Merryman’s release and stated that only Congress, not the president, could take such an action. Lincoln’s message to Congress defended his decision and requested congressional authorization and funding.
I decided that we have a case of rebellion, and that the public safety does require the qualified suspension…of the writ of habeas corpus, which I authorized to be made. Now it is insisted that Congress, and not the executive, is vested with this power—But the Constitution itself, is silent as to which, or who, is to exercise the power…
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
