Skip to main content

Lincoln vs. The Press



Abraham Lincoln was a man of many talents. From an emancipator, to politician,  a military leader, and many others... but what is not often talked about was his manipulation of media during the civil war. Did Lincoln violate the rights of citizens protected under the constitution or did he do what was best for the nation?

During the time of the Civil War, the federal government restricted the first amendment, specifically freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Journalists and newspapers were restricted. You could have even been arrested if you were to speak out against the draft, enlistments, and even income tax.

Lincoln and Military General John McClernand
history.com
During this time union generals believed it was best to restrict the publishing of battle plans to the  for military gain. Lincoln ordered union generals to hinder the release of battle plans and restricted the press from releasing military information and battle plans. This oppression of the press soon caused many to speak out against Lincoln and his efforts of union propaganda. This soon became a debate among the Lincoln administration.

As a result of these protests, Lincoln and his administration, the military arrested new paper editors and closed their presses. Arrests of editor from Freeman's Journal for treasonous statements, the office of the Sunday (now Washington) Chronicle, and also arrested the editors of the New York World. Lincoln truly believed that these restrictions on the press would help the North win the war.

Theres was much controversy over Lincolns free speech restrictions. One side believed that these restrictions were justifiable as wartime powers. While, others believed that it was an infringement of their rights. The constitution does prohibit Congress from making laws that restrict freedom of speech, however Lincolns actions could've been justified based on the presidents war powers under the constitution.

In the summer of July 1861, Lincoln stated in a speech “Must a government of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?” (Wilson 2006: 78).  In this statement shows that Lincoln put the survival of the nation before the protections of the first amendment. Personally, I believe that although Lincolns actions may have violated the rights of the people, overall it may have been a necessary evil at the time.

Sources:
https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1059/civil-war-u-s
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Mxz-GwPtmn4C&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=%22civil+war%22+%22northern+press%22+%22lincoln%22&ots=QNzl46bIc9&sig=m30ulhBh1TwP-XPHE4_pzOmE8AU#v=onepage&q=%22civil%20war%22%20%22northern%20press%22%20%22lincoln%22&f=false


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Corona ... The Drink?

Hurting or Benefiting?  Is the coronavirus good or bad for famous beer brand Corona sales? A survey conveyed by  5W Public Relations  argued wether not the coronavirus would be a PR disaster for the popular beer brand. The survey consisted of questions such as "Are you a Corona drinker?" and "Would you order a Corona in a public venue now?". Results of the survey stated that 38% of Americans who actively drink beer with not, under any circumstance, buy Corona. While 16% of Americans are confused about wether or not the virus is related to the beer. Lastly, that 14% of usual Corona drinkers said they would not order it in a public place. This virus couldn't have come at a worse time for the brand as they get ready to launch their new Corona branded hard seltzers. After tweeting about the release date of their new hard seltzers, they received tons of backlash due to the timing of their release and the virus. Many believe it's best for Corona to lay low in th...
Post a Comment
Read more

EOTO 1: Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis  Jacob Riis, as many of you knew as an American reporter, is also one of New York's most  popular social reformers and photographers. Riis is one of many muckraker journalists who brought attention to the economic and social hardships in New York during the the late 19th century.  In the late 1800s the Lower East Side was probably one of the most populated places on earth. Blocks after blocks were tenements filled with poor and hard-working immigrants from Italy, Ireland, Germany, China, Czech  Republic, etc. Riss, who was also an immigrant from Denmark, photographed these tenements filled with immigrants and its conditions. Not only did Riis photograph the hardships of immigrant life but he experienced it first hand as well. When Riis moved to America he began working as a carpenter, however during the financial panic in 1873 he became unemployed.  Working as a police reporter for newspapers, including The Evening Sun , he had seen a differe...
Post a Comment
Read more

EOTO 2: Modern Journalism

Modern Journalism What is it? Many say that the three phenomenas that changed American journalism was the penny press, yellow journalism, and muckraking. The Baltimore Sun newspapers.com The Penny Press  Created in the1830s, the penny press was cheap, hence the term "penny",  mass produced journalism. This type of journalism could be compared to tabloids that we see all over today. This type of journalism became widespread after the invention of steam powered printing. These papers only  once cent while others averaged at six cents at the time. The middle class relied on the penny press to receive there news and it prevented them from being less informed compared to the higher classes. The most popular forms of penny press were The Boston Herald, the Baltimore Sun, and the Philadelphia Public Ledger.  Yellow Journalism  Fake image of Kim Jong Un in coffin Yellow journalism is a term that was used for press that focused on sensationa...
Post a Comment
Read more