Lincoln and Civil Liberties: Essential, or Abuse of Power?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Without question, the subject of Lincoln and civil liberties is one where it is almost impossible to cover everything because of both the scope of the issues as well as time constraints.  That is why this site only pertains to an overview of Lincoln's dealings with habeas corpus and the press within the Union states.  Regardless, this subject is crucial in order for students to gain a more complete portrait of Lincoln and the Civil War because it's perhaps the most controversial element of the war and of Lincoln's presidency.  Hopefully, the sources listed below and on the other pages can help students grasp the key notions of civil liberties during a wartime context and the wartime powers of the federal government.  In addition, the primary and secondary documents shown within each topic can assist students in deciding for themselves whether these infringements were necessary, overblown, or an abuse of power on the part of Lincoln.  Finally, the links below played an important role in my own research, and can provide teachers and students with easy access to primary sources, articles, and books for their own studies.  If you are at all curious about how all of this came together, or you may be nervous about the implementation of the technology used in its creation, I wrote a somewhat step by step summary on Storify, which can be found here.  Storify is yet another great online tool for your students to publish their own essays with embedded videos, photos, as well as documents.