The Limits of Dissent: Clement L. Vallandigham and the Civil War

by Frank L. Klement

Overview

Every American war has brought conflict over the extent to which national security will permit protesters to exercise their constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. The most famous case was that of Clement L. Vallandigham, the passionate critic of Lincoln's Civil War policies and one of the most controversial figure in the nation's history. In the great crisis of his time, he insisted that no circumstance, even war, could deprive a citizen of his right to oppose government policy freely and openly.

The consequence was a furor which shook the nation's legislative halls and filled the press with vituperation. The ultimate fate for Vallandigham was arrest, imprisonment, and exile. The burning issues raised by his case remain largely unresolved today. Mr. Klement follows the tragic irony of Vallandigham's career and reassesses the man and history's judgment of him. After his death, "Valiant Val'' became a symbol of the dissenter in wartime whose case continues to have relevance in American democracy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813194790
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	12/14/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	376
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Frank L. Klement, professor of history at Marquette University, received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. He is the author of The Copperheads in the Middle West, Wisconsin and the Civil War, and numerous articles dealing mainly with the Civil War in a variety of historical journals.

Editorial Reviews

Comprises a study of Clement L. Vallandigham (1820-1871), unsuccessful conservative midwestern politician and critic of Lincoln's policies whose oratory instigated heated debate over the extent to which national security should permit protesters to exercise their constitutional guarantee to freedom of expression and who ultimately met with arrest and exile. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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