All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime

by William H. Rehnquist

In All the Laws but One , William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, provides an insightful and fascinating account of the history of civil liberties during wartime and illuminates the cases where presidents have suspended the law in the name of national security.

Abraham Lincoln, champion of freedom and the rights of man, suspended the writ of habeas corpus early in the Civil War--later in the war he also imposed limits upon freedom of speech and the press and demanded that political criminals be tried in military courts. During World War II, the government forced 100,000 U.S. residents of Japanese descent, including many citizens, into detainment camps. Through these and other incidents Chief Justice Rehnquist brilliantly probes the issues at stake in the balance between the national interest and personal freedoms. With All the Laws but One he significantly enlarges our understanding of how the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution during past periods of national crisis--and draws guidelines for how it should do so in the future.

Genres: Law, History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Legal

254 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 1998

About the author

William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. Considered a conservative, Rehnquist favored a federalism under which the states meaningfully exercised governmental power. Under this view of federalism, the Supreme Court of the United States, for the first time since the 1930s, struck down an Act of Congress as exceeding federal power under the Commerce Clause.

Rehnquist presided as Chief Justice for nearly 19 years, making him the fourth-longest-serving Chief Justice after John Marshall, Roger Taney, and Melville Fuller, and the longest-serving Chief Justice who had previously served as an Associate Justice. The last 11 years of Rehnquist's term as Chief Justice (1994–2005) marked the second-longest tenure of one roster of the Supreme Court.

Reviews

[Bob H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading if only because the Rehnquist court considered, after 9/11, the fate of wartime detainees, both US citizens and foreign prisoners, whether they can be held without due process and possibly tried by military tribunals. He reviews past clashes between civil liberty and national security, notably the Civil War era. He does highlight some little-known cases -- the military courts' overreaching in WWII Hawaii, for example. Other commentators noted, however, he could've said more about the Youngstown (steel seizure) case of 1952 (he clerked for Justice Robert Jackson then), a major check to wartime Presidential power.

Still, worth reading with the 9/11 cases in mind, though I would also recommend Mark E. Neely's "The Fate of Liberty" for another view of the Civil War cases.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise analysis of civil liberties issues raised by cases of import during the Civil War (Ex Parte Milligan, assassination trials, &c.), World War 1 (Espionage Act cases), and World War 2 (Korematsu, Quirin, Endo, Duncan, &c.). Rehnquist concludes with a measured discussion of how far executive and congressional power might extend during wartime (further than in peacetime!). As was the case with his prior book on impeachment, Rehnquist wound up in the thick of his era’s critical decisions on this subject, and was more or less true to his conclusions here (he sided with the executive).

Rehnquist, an expert workflow manager notorious for working smarter rather than harder, outsourced the writing of extensive portions of this book (as he did with his other books) to his clerks, one of whom was Ted Cruz. There are far lengthier books on this subject elsewhere, but this is a satisfactory treatment for non-specialists, certainly sufficient for my purposes (like Rehnquist, I too prefer to work smarter rather than harder!) as I trudge towards 125+ books read in calendar year 2021.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Presidential power and the Constitution... In this case, primarily Lincoln and his suspension of habeas corpus among other war-time changes. (I must say that I could make ties to trump as well.) William Rehnquist is quite well qualified to write on the law, as a SCOTUS associate justice.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of the history of habeas corpus the law forbidding detention without charges. Focusing on the use of the law during wartime, written by the previous Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, this is well-written for those without a legal background. Rehnquist has a strong sense of narrative, exploring how the judicial system in the U.S. has evolved over 200+ years.

Details: Rehnquist details the curtailing of rights during war time focusing most of the book on the Civil War, before exploring WWI and WWII. He explains the background for Lincoln to enforce "all the laws but one " - habeas corpus - and how that evolved throughout the Civil War. The ramifications of that decision and how it was interpreted by future Supreme Courts are explored with a discussion on how we are impacted by that today.

The Takeaway: A good book for history and law buffs. Not too technical and with some important insights into our judicial system.

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful book that delves into the Federal violations of Civil Rights in time of war, specifically during the Lincoln Administration followed by the Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt Administrations. During the Lincoln Administration, there was a clamp down on the freedom of the press with many opposition news editors jailed, especially before the 1864 elections. Freedom of speech was curtailed as were many other freedoms. This book goes into the legal reasoning for and against these intrusions. Post Civil War chapters included violations of rights during WWI (Eugene Debs) and WWII (Internment of US Citizens of Japanese and Italian ancestry).

The first part of the book is well written. The last few chapters appear to be written as after thoughts.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched book on an incredibly important topic written by someone with clear expertise and authority on the subject. However, this book needs a better editor. While the book touches on WWI and WWII, it is primarily about the civil war. It would have been better to further develop the later chapters or just leave them out entirely. There’s so much detail on the individuals involved in the civil war decision making and the assassination of Lincoln. Some of it is great and interesting but there’s so much that you can easily lose the thread of the larger story he is trying tell. I don’t need to know the professional and personal background of every minor player.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting to enjoy or learn as much from this book as I did.
Rehnquist is a fine writer and this is a well researched book.

[Jacob Lines · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Are all the laws, but one, to go unexecuted, and the government itself to do to pieces, lest that one be violated?” So asked Lincoln near the beginning of the Civil War. This is the question that lawyers and judges and citizens have been arguing since then – how restrained must the government be in time of war? How much must it respect civil liberties when so much is at stake? This book, written by Chief Justice Rehnquist, tells the history of this question very well. He recounts the controversies surrounding the U.S. government’s infringement of liberties during war beginning with the Civil War and continuing through World War II. The big problem is that the book was written by a sitting Supreme Court justice, so he studiously avoids taking any position. Where any other author would jump in and criticize, analyze, and predict, Rehnquist feels compelled to simply state the facts, explain the arguments, and then move on. It is an interesting read, but kind of frustrating. If you are going to enjoy the book, you must come to terms with its limitations very soon and realize that you will have to find the commentary elsewhere.
To pick up where this leaves off, read War and Liberty by Geoffrey Stone.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written before 9/11, so I was interested in reading this book to see how he read on executive power and how he subsequently applied to to the War on Terror and the Hamdi and Hamdan cases, but I took me until the last chapter to find out that the book is limited to cases of declared war. Alas. The analysis of the limits of executive power is interesting, but it's disquieting to see how applying this analysis leads to the outcome that enough deference could be given to the executive branch that Korematsu was rightly decided. If someone wakes you up at 5 am to ask if the War on Terror was constitutional, tell him to read this book and go back to sleep.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book after a recommendation by a law professor. The subject is fascinating, and the writing is good. If you are looking for a left-wing or right-wing biased attack on American History, this book isn't for you. The impression I got was that Rehnquist was just trying to lay the facts all out (things might be a bit skewed right-wing but slight at best). If you read one of Rehnquist's books, make it this.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good history of government disregard for Habeas Corpus in the United States. Rehnquist's storytelling prevented me from getting bored. Lots of interesting and random history about the beginning of the civil war.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Law stuff -- may not be for everyone.

[Jeanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Legal history of the loss of habeas corpus. Good depiction of the issues in Lincoln's administration. Gives some perspective. My poditrist, Dr. McDermott gave it to me to read.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for those interested in law or in the the Lincoln administration's suspension of habeas corpus.

[Craig Bolton]

All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime by William H. Rehnquist (2000)