The Supreme Court Argument that Saved the Union: Richard Henry Dana, Jr., and the Prize Cases |
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Authors: | JEFFREY L AMESTOY |
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Institution: | Harvard Kennedy School |
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Abstract: | On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, claiming constitutional authority to do so “as a fit and necessary war measure.” The epic struggle between North and South had been raging for nearly two years. There were over a million soldiers under arms. At Antietam there had been more than 20,000 casualties in the bloodiest single day of battle in American history. 1 But was it, in point of law, a war? |
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