Dr. David Schrader will speak on “Constitutional Rights and the Civil War.” With the outbreak of hostilities, President Lincoln faced numerous challenges, causing the issuance of new, mostly unconstitutional edicts that impacted civil rights, including suspensions of habeas corpus, repression of the press, conscription, and income taxes. The South faced many of these same issues, too. We have much to learn about what was truly happening during this tumultuous period, resulting in many precedents that we live with to this very day. And you will get to vote on which President more faithfully followed his constitution.
