Question

What happened to civil liberties during the war? do you think that civil liberties should be restricted during a time of war?

Answer 1

The policies of the United States government determined the civil liberties of some Virginians during the war, through either military occupation or the creation of West Virginia. The administration of United States president Abraham Lincoln typically treated Southerners as people who had abdicated their civil liberties by the act of secession. The Union arrested approximately 2,000 civilians in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia during the war and called them "political prisoners," a broad label that also included civilians accused of nonpolitical offenses. Union forces arrested several persons suspected of assisting partisan raider John Singleton Mosby in Virginia. They also imprisoned Confederate deserters crossing Union lines. In addition to those arrest policies, several other acts and proclamations affected Virginians. Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in areas in rebellion against the United States.