The Fate of Liberty is a comprehensive look at the issues of civil liberties during Lincoln's administration, placing them in the political context of the time. It examines the practical impact on civil liberties of the policies Lincoln developed to save the Union. Neely focuses on Lincoln's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in a turbulent time of unforeseen events that threatened the stability of the nation - the threat to Washington as Maryland flirted with secession, disintegrating public order in the border states, corruption among military contractors, contraband trade with the South and the outcry against the first draft in United States history. Drawing upon letters from prisoners, records of military courts and federal prisons, memoirs, and federal archives, he paints a vivid picture of how Lincoln responded to these problems, how his policies were actually executed, and the virulent political debates that followed.

About the Author
Mark E. Neely is McCabe-Greer Professor of the History of the Civil War Era at Penn State University.

Reviews
`Neely's book won the prestigious US Pulitzer Prize for History in 1992, mainly for its careful examination of contemporary records andof the widely differing categories of those detailen ... objective, non-partisan study.' Morning Star
`Neely's book, which is the best scholarly examination of this issue ever written, will rehabilitate Lincoln's reputation on civil liberties ... extremely convincing' Paul Finkelman, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History & Biography, Vol. CXVI, No. 4 (October 1992)


Awards
Winner of Winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for History.



Book Information
ISBN 9780195080322
Author Mark E. Neely
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 445g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 155mm * 19mm