Suppression of the press during the American Civil War
In early August 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued an Executive Order which made it illegal to establish or maintain a correspondence with “the enemy” or to publish or otherwise disseminate any information which could be construed as giving “intelligence to the enemy, either directly or indirectly.” Under the wording of the order printing stories which covered protests against the war in Northern newspapers could be (and were) considered as giving intelligence to the enemy of Northern disunity. Abraham Lincoln had by then already suspended habeas corpus in Eastern Cities from Washington to New York, and lobbied Congress for the suspension of habeas corpus as a war measure across the Union.
Only a week following Lincoln’s executive orders of early August, four New York newspapers were informed through a legal device known as a presentment that a Grand Jury had informed the US Circuit Court that they were, “encouraging the rebels by expressions of sympathy and agreement.” One of the newspapers was the New York Freeman’s Journal, a Catholic weekly newspaper, which was attacked by Secretary of State William Seward. Seward objected to the newspaper’s frequent editorials upholding the principle of state’s rights. His view was that such arguments undermined the authority of the federal government.
Another of the newspapers was The Journal of Commerce, which had been published in New York since 1827. The Journal’s editorials pages were staunch opponents of slavery, but they were equally critical of the abolitionists and the proponents for was against the South, arguing for a negotiated settlement. Lincoln’s Postmaster General, Montgomery Blair, suspended the paper from being distributed through the mail, effectively killing its evening edition and limiting the morning edition’s circulation to New York City. The paper attempted to fight the decision in the courts but were hampered by the suspension of habeas corpus.
The New York Daily News had supported Stephen A. Douglas in the 1860 election and defended both slavery and the right to secede. It was an openly racist vehicle before the war and condemned the North’s actions against the South as aggression. Montgomery Blair suspended the Daily News‘ right to use the mails for distribution, which had the effect of suspending its publication for several months. Not until May of 1863 would the New York Daily News be able to publish and distribute editions of it newspaper, which had been the highest circulation newspaper in the nation in 1860.
The use of the suspension of habeas corpus followed by unopposed executive orders which allowed the Post Office to effectively close instruments which offered opinions contrary to the administration’s is an example of the shrewd and coldly efficient manner in which Abraham Lincoln used the power of the Presidency. If one were to be asked today to name an American President who took steps to silence the power of the press and suppress free speech it is unlikely that Abraham Lincoln would come to mind. Interestingly, Lincoln sustained ferocious personal attacks in the press throughout his Presidency which he never attempted to contain. He focused his attention on how the public viewed the Confederacy and displayed little concern over how the public viewed him.