All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime - Hardcover

Rehnquist, William H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679446613 ISBN 13: 9780679446613

Publisher: Knopf, 1998

Synopsis

In 1861, with the survival of the United States in jeopardy, Abraham Lincoln--the Great Emancipator and champion of human freedom--responded to the national threat by suspending the writ of habeas corpus, a traditional bulwark of individual liberty. Lincoln's decision reveals in stark terms a conflict inherent in the practice of American democracy, and in this absorbing new study the Chief Justice of the United States examines the inevitable clash between the demands of a successful war effort and the compelling need to protect civil liberties.

Taking his title from Lincoln's speech before Congress defending his suspention of the writ, William H. Rehnquist relates in vivid detail how the exigencies of wartime have strained, threatened, and ultimately confirmed our most cherished civil liberties. The decisions made by a wartime government are unlike those made in times of peace, and here the Chief Justice guides the reader through the various wartime policies--and the legal decisions that followed--that tested the civil liberties we traditionally enjoy: the Lincoln administration's prosecution of civilians before military tribunals (as well as of the alleged conspirators in the Lincoln assassination); the criminalization in World War I of speech inciting resistance to the draft; the forcible relocation of Japanese-Americans in World War II; and the imposition for nearly three years of martial law in Hawaii.

Each of these instances illustrates the Roman dictum Inter arma silent leges, "In time of war the laws are silent"; but as Rehnquist argues, that silence alternates with voices raised in defense of civil liberties. Written with characteristic grace and authority, All the Laws but One is a fascinating blend of historical narrative and legal analysis, a major contribution to our understanding of the great American experiment.

About this title

Review:

In the first hectic days of the American Civil War, the future of the Union was in doubt. Troops traveling to defend Washington were waylaid by mobs in Maryland. In the midst of this crisis, Abraham Lincoln sought to suspend the writ of habeas corpus to permit the military to detain those who were interfering with the prosecution of the war. When the Supreme Court limited his ability to do so, Lincoln complained that the Court was allowing "all the laws, but one, go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated." Eventually, civil liberties were curtailed for the duration of the Civil War--as they would be again in World Wars I and II.

That Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist's analysis of civil liberties in wartime is entitled All the Laws but One hints where he comes down on the subject. Rehnquist acknowledges and criticizes the excesses of civil liberties violations in wartime--during World War I, for example, editorial cartoonists critical of the government were prosecuted for sedition. But he defends the need to curtail some liberties in emergency situations--including, surprisingly, some instances of the evacuation and relocation of Japanese Americans that took place during World War II. Rehnquist's style can be disjointed at times--as when cursory biographical information of key players seems to have been tacked on to fill out the otherwise slim volume--but the historical analysis of martial law and other Civil War controversies, which comprises the overwhelming majority of the book, remains fascinating. --Ted Frank

From the Publisher:

"A dispassionate and lucid book, with some striking themes...The Chief Justice has put forward the ingredients of a highly original account of the proper role of the Supreme Court, a role that makes most sense in times of war, but has its attractions whenever the Court is embroiled in great social controversies."
--Cass R. Sunstein, The New Republic

"How fortunate we are to have a Chief Justice who not only loves history but knows how to tell a rousing good story, filled with absorbing detail, complex characters, and consistently fair-minded judgement."
--Doris Kearns Goodwin

"This is legal history at its very finest...a brilliant, gripping inquiry into how our American
democracy functions during wartime."
--Douglas Brinkley

"This highly recommended book will enhance general public understanding of constitutional provisions about the government's ability to suspend civil and criminal proceedings during wartime."
--Library Journal

"Unique and impressive"
--Stephen Ambrose

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0679446613
• ISBN 13: 9780679446613
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272