1850
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Part of the Compromise of 1850. Requires the return of people who escaped slavery, denies them a jury trial, and penalizes those who assist them.
Source: U.S. Senate
Sectional crisis and Civil War. 1850–1865
Disputes over slavery in the territories reach the Supreme Court and then the battlefield. Wartime measures include the suspension of habeas corpus and the Emancipation Proclamation.
The questions. As the record frames them.
The constitutional questions this era’s decisions and laws turned on.
- Can the Constitution exclude people from citizenship?
- Who may suspend habeas corpus, and when?
The record. 5 entries, in order.
Every case, amendment and event in Constilumen dated 1850 to 1865.
1857
Dred Scott v. Sandford
No. The Court held that such persons were not citizens under the Constitution and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories, striking down the Missouri Compromise line.
Source: Opinion of the Court
1861
Lincoln authorizes suspension of habeas corpus
At the start of the Civil War, President Lincoln authorizes military commanders to suspend the writ along the rail line between Philadelphia and Washington. Chief Justice Taney, sitting as a circuit judge in Ex parte Merryman, rules that only Congress may suspend it. Congress authorizes suspension in March 1863.
Source: Federal Judicial Center
1863
Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln declares that enslaved people in areas still in rebellion “are, and henceforward shall be free,” as a war measure under his authority as commander in chief.
Source: National Archives
1865
Thirteenth Amendment: Abolition of slavery
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime of which the party has been duly convicted, shall exist in the United States.
Source: National Archives
The language. What stood out in print.
Tracked terms printed most often in 1850–1865 compared with their own average across 1789–2022. A value of 2× means the word appeared twice as often as usual.
- martial law2.6×
- constitution2.3×
- patriotism2.1×
- habeas corpus1.6×
- tyranny1.4×
- unconstitutional1.4×
Executive orders. Presidencies of the era.
Totals for each full presidency, including years outside the era. Counts before 1945 include unnumbered orders.
| President | Took office | Orders | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zachary Taylor | 1849 | 5 | 3.7 |
| Millard Fillmore | 1850 | 12 | 4.5 |
| Franklin Pierce | 1853 | 35 | 9 |
| James Buchanan | 1857 | 16 | 4 |
| Abraham Lincoln | 1861 | 48 | 12 |
| Andrew Johnson | 1865 | 79 | 20 |
Source: The American Presidency Project. All presidencies