Civil War, Lincoln, & the Press

During the Civil War, the federal government restricted constitutional liberties, which included freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Contrary to these liberties, union generals decided to eliminate the publishing of battle plans in newspapers for military gain. However, President Abraham Lincoln believed that discontinuing the publishing of battle plans in newspapers was unconstitutional.

Image retrieved from the First Amendment Encyclopedia.

This was the start of a huge debate for the Lincoln administration. The Northern press believed that secession was an inevitable consequence of his policy towards the South. Union loyalists argued that dissent in the press resulted in treason. Northern citizens judged "disloyal" newspapers in an effort to prevent pro-Southern sentiment.

In result of the debate, the military arrested newspaper editors and closed their presses. Lincoln and his cabinet members ordered arrests for the editor of the Freeman's Journal for treasonous statements made in the newspaper (Freeman's Journal), destroyed the office of the Sunday Chronicle (The Washington Chronicle), and arrested the editors of the New York World after two reporters ran an ingenuine proclamation (True Newspaper Courtesy, p. 291).

With the advancement of technology, it led to new types of censorship. The Lincoln administration censored telegraph dispatches to and from Washington to avoid reporters from hacking into the systems. However, in December 1861, the House Judiciary Committee issued a report stating that the government could not interfere with telegraph communications unless under certain circumstances.

Lincoln's purpose for seeking out disparities in the press about military information was to keep border states on the Union's side and rebut claims of exceeding authority for political gain. The Lincoln administration had good reason to be concerned about the press because soldiers sought out and exchanged newspapers across enemy lines on a regular basis. This resulted in Robert E. Lee withdrawing his troops from the defense of Richmond and putting them on the line. Another result of exchanging newspapers was when General Hardee received a copy of the New York Tribune, he learned that Sherman's supply ships were gathering in Morehead City, North Carolina (The War, p. 64). The Union suffered heavy losses in battle due to this and it supported Sherman's view of war correspondents as spies for the enemy.

Some of the reasons behind the arrests from the Lincoln administration were use of treasonable language, disloyalty, threatening Unionists, and inducing desertion. Along with these reasons for arrest, there were bans against items displaying Confederate mottoes or images and some were arrested without legal process for discouraging enlistment into the army. Republicans realized the damage this caused and Secretary Stanton issued an order releasing all persons who had been arrested for discouraging enlistments.

One of the most famous limitations to freedom of speech was from Burnside's General Order No. 38 that stated, "expressed or implied" treason would not be tolerated. This meant that anyone that had the small intent of criticizing the government would be imprisoned. Congressman Clement Vallandigham gave a speech at a Democrat Party rally that stated how much he despised Burnside's Order (Congressional Globe). This resulted in his imprisonment for the remainder of the war. When this case was brought to the Supreme Court, they denied review because they thought that Vallandigham would turn into a martyr. Lincoln turned his sentence from imprisonment to banishment to the Confederacy.

The way that Lincoln and his administration ruled the Constitutional rights of the First Amendment came from the president's war powers under the Constitution, not just the First Amendment itself. The Supreme Court did not address the application of the First Amendment until after the Civil War, so his actions were not necessarily evaluated at full measure yet.

Some argued that Lincoln's actions were somewhat evil, explaining that he violated the Constitution during the war. Others argued that Lincoln's defense of his actions justified his executive powers during wartime (Randall, 1947). Above all, Lincoln explained in a speech in July 1861, "Must a government of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?" (Wilson, 2006, p. 78). This question symbolizes that the survival of the nation was the most important constitutional principle and that it rose above the protections of the First Amendment.

Works Cited

Wilson. (2006). Douglas L. Lincoln’s Sword:The Presidency and the Power of Words. Retrieved March 25, 2020.

Randall, J. G. (1947). Lincoln, the liberal statesman: Illustrated. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode.

Blair, F. P., Rives, J. C., Rives, F., & Bailey, G. A. (1834). Appendix. In The Congressional globe ...(pp. 52-60). Washington: Printed at the Globe Office for the editors.

True Newspaper Courtesy. (1868, May 9). Retrieved March 25, 2020, from Gale Primary Sources.

The Washington Chronicle. (1864, August 10). Retrieved March 25, 2020, from Gale Primary Sources.

The War. (1864, January 23). Retrieved March 25, 2020, from Gale Primary Sources.

Asp, D. (n.d.). Civil War, U.S. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1059/civil-war-u-s

Williams, F. (n.d.). Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties in Wartime. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/abraham-lincoln-and-civil-liberties-wartime