and can only be disregarded in times of civil emergency. The general didn’t want to go to court and sent staff Colonel Lee with John Merryman. Lee appeared before Judge Taney and stated that the general was busy with other matters (Sandburg 247). The colonel read a statement from Gen. Cadwalader asserting: “John Merryman was charged with treason and was known for holding a commission as a lieutenant in a company in their possession armed hostility against the government” (Sandburg 247). The general’s statement added the president would also authorize a suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.President Lincoln sent word to Chief Justice Taney, explaining that it was his duty to authorize the commanding general’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in the name of public safety (Sandburg 247). Congress resumed on August 6th, while Lincoln was making the final measures of his plan (Sandburg 247). The North and South were in a mammoth argument concerning the arrests of southern civil leaders. Without the writ of habeas corpus, there was no need to tell the south why the civil leaders were being held in custody. The war was now ready to begin, and the north and south would eventually be reunited.We can thank Lincoln for provoking the conflict. The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was wrong and somewhat against the constitution. But this brilliant plan gave Lincoln the power he needed to win the war and resolve the current national crisis. Although Honest Abe wasn’t that honest when he passed the suspension, (he had some retaliatory intentions in mind) the country still regarded him as a great leader. Seventy-two years later, president Franklin Roosevelt went through his own national crisis. FDR felt pressure the moment he was inaugurated into office in March 1933. America was in the Great Depression, banks were closing, the stock market was at an all time low, and unemployment was the highest t...
