During the Civil War, Lincoln assumed unprecedented powers for the executive branch to suppress the rebellion in the Southern states. To preserve the Union, he superseded traditional constitutional rights and expanded the president’s ability to take action without the approval of Congress or the Supreme Court.
Born in the then-frontier state of Kentucky, Lincoln was raised in the midwestern states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. With only a rudimentary formal education, Lincoln was self-taught, largely through close and attentive readings of the Bible, William Shakespeare, and the law. Attracted to politics, Lincoln joined the Whig Party and in 1846 was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served a single term and was most notable for his opposition to the Mexican War. After joining the new Republican Party, Lincoln became a candidate for the Senate in 1858, debating Democratic nominee Stephen Douglas in a series of debates that won national attention. Two years later, Lincoln was elected president, winning less than 40 percent of the popular vote. As a result of his election, South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860, beginning the process that would lead to civil war by the spring of 1861.
These actions were soon challenged by the Supreme Court, specifically by its chief justice, Roger Brooke Taney.
Such was to be the pattern for Lincoln’s dealings with the Supreme Court during the Civil War. Although the high court might disapprove of his actions, especially actions taken by military authorities, it made little attempt during the war to assert its authority. In fact, during the 1863 Prize Cases
The Prize Cases centered around four ships that had been seized by the Union blockading fleet. The ships’ owners claimed their property had been unlawfully taken because a blockade was by definition an act of war and only Congress could declare a state of war. The Court ruled that the Union blockade was appropriate even without a formal declaration of war because Lincoln was faced with the conditions of war, whether the technical details had been met or not. In this case, Lincoln’s actions and the Court’s decision helped shape future presidential uses of military power.
It was only after the Civil War, in the case of Ex parte Milligan
Lincoln’s five appointments to the Court were characteristic of his presidency. He nominated candidates who were likely to increase the strength of his appeal to pro-Union sentiment in the Northern and border states, and he favored men from the growing Midwest. His first Supreme Court nominee, Samuel F. Miller,
Perhaps Lincoln’s most significant, and controversial, appointment was that of Salmon P. Chase
Lincoln’s relationship with, and influence on, the Court was less through his appointments or the cases decided during his administration, than in what the Court tacitly allowed him to do. In the end, he asserted, in his quiet, homely fashion, that the executive department was permitted unprecedented powers during times of extreme crisis, such as those of civil war. The Court demurred, but in a fashion that was soon overcome and never reasserted. The result was an immense increase in presidential power and prerogatives and perhaps, the salvation of the American Union.
Abraham, Henry J. Justices and Presidents. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Schwartz, Bernard. A History of the Supreme Court. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Silver, David M. Lincoln’s Supreme Court. Reprint. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998.
Chase, Salmon P.
Civil War
Delegation of powers
Habeas corpus
Military and the Court
Milligan, Ex parte
Presidential powers
Prize Cases
Speech and press, freedom of
Taney, Roger Brooke
War and civil liberties
War powers