General Orders No. 11 Analysis

On May 25th, 1861, John Merryman is taken from his home and is imprisoned in Fort McHenry. This was a result of Pratt Street Riot in Baltimore, and Merryman was arrested by the order of Gen. Keim. Merryman was then put under the custody of Gen. Cadwalader at the Fort, a copy of the warrant (which the prisoner was arrested) was demanded by his counsel, and refused. Chief Justice Roger Taney demanded Merryman be produced for a trial, and Cadwalader couldn’t obey the writ. Without violating his honor and under the authority of the president he refused. Cadwalader had every right to do so, Merryman was seen as a traitor during a time of rebellion. But the question is, did President Lincoln have the power to suspend the privilege of the Writ of
11 was issued by Major-General Ulysses Grant. In 1862, the expulsion of all Jews was ordered in Southern areas. Grant believed a black market for cotton was being run by the Jews, and he issued the order in an effort to reduce corruption. Of course this is a violation of Constitutional rights, and a telegram was sent to Lincoln. General Orders No. 11 compared to Lincoln’s wartime actions show a pattern of civil liberties being taken away in desperate times. In summary, this is a prime example of how armies worked during the time. The same year, Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. Thus, he gets his name the “Great Emancipator”, not a very accurate label. In his 1858 debate with Stephen Douglas, Lincoln reports he has never been in favor of social and political equality of the white and black races. He is in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. Lincoln was never one who stood for the equality between races, rather a President who realized slavery was dividing the country. Abolitionist who really believed in the cause like Frederick Douglass did more than Lincoln ever did. The largest mass execution in American history carried out under the orders of President