Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus

Beginning in Maryland in 1861, President Lincoln effectively suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus, allowing his Union government to detain civilians without immediate court review and to allow for their military trials. Although Congress later passed a retroactive act, the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, in 1863 to allow Lincoln to have done this, the Chief Justice at the time, Taney, was in opposition to his decision. The suspension detained Copperheads (Confederate sympathizers) as well as stopped draft arrest and silenced dissent of war efforts.