Memory and Application during the War on Terror

  “The suspension of habeas corpus and indefinite detention of irregulars by the Lincoln Administration, particularly those involving the Supreme Court cases Ex Parte Merryman and Ex Parte Milligan, served as an example for the wartime policy of the Bush Administration in terms of executive supremacy and extra constitutional necessity in wartime. “ Thesis

  Suspension of the Writ during the Civil War  Ex Parte Merryman  Ex Parte Milligan  Suspension during the War on Terror  Connection between Lincoln and Bush presidencies  Hamdi v. Rumsfeld Structure of Paper

  Previous crises but now challenges of the Civil War  Context: mixed loyalties and tension in Maryland  Extraordinary actions in times of crisis  Executive authority in wartime Merryman

  Seditious Confederate actions behind Union lines  Court ruling ignored realities of war/reconstruction  Proper executive wartime action vs. vanguard of civil liberties against executive tyranny Milligan

  Bush faced similar issues as did Lincoln  Bush willing to take drastic actions to defend nation as was Lincoln Bush and Lincoln

  U.S. citizen detained as a combatant  Pragmatism vs. textualism  Executive authority in detention  Wartime necessity weighed against freedom of citizens Bush and Hamdi

  Lincoln dealt with Merryman and Milligan in a similar way as Bush dealt with Hamdi  Executive Supremacy  Necessity in times of crisis Conclusion