All the Laws But One: Civil Liberties in Wartime (Signed First Edition, First Printing)

Rehnquist, William

ISBN 10: 0679446613 / ISBN 13: 9780679446613

Published by Knopf, 1998

About this Item

Inscribed First Edition, First Printing of Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist's study of the assertion of special executive powers by American presidents during wars and the affect on civil liberties -- particularly during the Civil War. Inscribed by William Rehnquist to previous owners on a bookplate on the front endpaper. 254 pages. The dust jacket has a small closed tear on the bottom edge of the front cover -- otherwise no sign of previous use.

Seller Inventory # 010936

Bibliographic Details

• Title: All the Laws But One: Civil Liberties in Wartime (Signed First Edition, First Printing)
• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679446613
• ISBN 13: 9780679446613
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

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 the Author

William H. Rehnquist is Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.