US History

U.S. History Study Guide

13.16 Lincoln's Martial Law While the Civil War consumed the North, and since Lincoln needed to ensure stability, he passed a series of laws that bent, if not broke the Constitution. This applied especially in the Border States in the Union, specifically Maryland. Lincoln would strip away individual rights like a quick and speedy trial, seizure of property, freedom of the press and a number of other rights to preserve stability in the Union. If the Border States decided to flip and go to the Confederacy, it could cause not only political issues, but logistic issues as well, places like Maryland would encircle Washington D.C. and force a treaty if the Confederacy invaded the capitol. Lincoln promised these were temporary wartime measures, many of the legislative measures passed during his tenure as president have had long term consequences after the war. Suspension of Habeas Corpus and Freedom of Press Lincoln elected to end the writs of habeas corpus as well as the freedoms of speech and press. Civilians were tried by military courts on the mere suspicion of treason and often held as prisoners of war until the war was over. Lincoln himself ordered a temporary stop to the several newspapers around the country, especially in the Border States. Lincoln could not jeopardize losing one of these Border States and public opinion, even at the risk of trampling what the Union represented. 13.17 Raising Money and Troops Federal Income Tax 1861 In the early stages of the war, many of the acts revolved around money. Lacking the approval of Congress, Lincoln spent large quantities of federal funding at his own discretion to fund the war effort. To compensate for Lincoln's spending, the first federal income tax was instituted by Congress in 1861 to help fund the war. The Legal Tender Act 1862 When the federal government began to run low on money, Congress began printing more money. The Legal Tender Act allowed the government to print paper money that was not backed by gold and silver. Many bankers predicted disaster for the economy. Even many members of Congress feared a complete collapse of the nation's financial infrastructure. The paper notes, called greenbacks, worked much better than expected. The government was able to pay its bills and, by increasing the money in circulation, war production greased the wheels of Northern commerce. The greenbacks were legal tender, which meant that creditors had to accept them at face value. The Conscription Act of 1863 The Conscription Act passed in March of 1863, which set a draft, all able men between the ages of twenty and forty-five needed to fight in the war, if not they were put in prison. An exemption was given to those able to hire a substitute or pay a fee of three-hundred dollars. Due to its unfair

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