Channels, Spring 2019

Channels • 2019 • Volume 3 • Number 2 Page 41 of any infantry losing his writ to habeas corpus . 40 Though President Lincoln suspended it forthright on his own volition, Congress passed a law supporting the president’s actions. President Lincoln also expanded the powers of the Oval Office in other significant ways:  Lincoln increased the size of the army and the navy;  ordered the blockade of southern ports; instructed the Treasury to purchase $2 million in military supplies;  Imposed new travel restrictions;  And banned ‘treasonable correspondence’ from being exchanged by the Post Office. 41 President Lincoln viewed the executive office as the savior of the Union, the one who should pursue all possible routes to prevent the dissolution of the Union. “So viewing the issue, no choice was left but to call out the war power of the Government; and so to resist force, employed for its [the Union’s] destruction, by force, for its preservation.” 42 Upon this, and the “faithful execution of the laws,” rested President Lincoln’s decision to move in a bold way to complete the objectives he set out to achieve. The Prize Cases , 68 U.S. 635, 668 (1863) provided Lincoln with the appropriate powers to respond to immediate threats of internal war. Moreover, Lincoln’s powers as president were expanded under the auspices of Justice Grier’s opinion, which stated that the president is obligated to respond to an invasion: “He [the president] does not initiate the war, but is bound to accept the challenge without waiting for the special legislative authority.” 43 However, Justice Grier’s opinion stopped short of expanding the president’s power to initiate war. Justice Grier made this explicitly clear when he wrote that Lincoln “has no power to initiate or declare a war against either a foreign nation or a domestic State.” 44 President Lincoln’s restriction of the writ of habeas corpus , however, was reined in by the Supreme Court in Ex parte Milligan , 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 2 (1866), following the close of the Civil War. A soldier accused of conspiring with the Confederates was denied the use of the writ of habeas corpus . He was then tried in a military tribunal set up in the Union state of Indiana. However, the Supreme Court checked the president’s power in restricting the writ due to the fact that military courts were not allowed to function in states where federal courts had consistently been in operation. 45 Congress followed with legislation that limited the courts’ ability to hear such cases. Following the close of the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, the Gilded Age engendered support for an American Empire. Under President McKinley, this dream could be realized with the Spanish- American War. Following the war, America not only obtained Cuba, but also annexed the Philippines, giving the United States a foothold in East Asia and the Asian markets. President McKinley’s attempt to expand the presidential powers he had was short-lived, however, following his assassination. President Theodore Roosevelt also expanded presidential power in the realm of foreign policy with his international objectives, particularly in considering the imperialist opportunities presented to the United States during his presidency. President Roosevelt’s policy was to “Speak Softly and Carry 40 Refer to Ex parte Milligan . 41 Lincoln, Abraham. “Abraham Lincoln’s Message to Congress in a Special Session.” Evolving Presidency , edited by Michael Nelson, Los Angeles: Sage Books, 2016. Pages 83-88. 42 Ibid. 43 The Prize Cases , 68 U.S. 635, 668 (1863). 44 Ibid. 45 Ex parte Milligan , 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 2 (1866).