Historical Documents
Petition for a writ of habeas corpus, John Merryman, May 25, 1861
Ex parte Merryman, opinion of Chief Justice Roger Taney (excerpts)
Lincoln’s orders on habeas corpus (excerpts)
Roger Taney to Franklin Pierce, June 12, 1861 (excerpt)
President Abraham Lincoln, message to Congress in special session, July 4, 1861 (excerpt)
Opinion of Attorney General Edward Bates, July 5, 1861 (excerpts)
Horace Binney, The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus Under the Constitution (excerpt)
Edward Ingersoll, Personal Liberty and Martial Law: A Review of Some Pamphlets of the Day (excerpt)
Abraham Lincoln to Erastus Corning and others, June 12, 1863 (excerpts)
Constitutional and statutory authorities
Newspaper Coverage
Popular Culture
Lincoln cartoon
Ex parte Merryman and Debates on Civil Liberties During the Civil War