gipper, it is wonderful in our country that we have generally the freedom to say what we want, yeah? Even you.
Agreed. However freedom of speech is under attack today as it was during Lincoln's time...when he closed hundreds of neespapers and imprisoned hundreds of people who disagreed with his war and unconstitutional acts.
For decades in the South, before the War, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Association was not allowed.
At least Lincoln did so in a time of war - and most often for good reason.
The Confederacy imprisoned thousands of political prisoners as well, but your DiLorenzo propaganda (the White Nationalist strikes again!) counts a great number of people, who in a time of war were
Deserters or draft evaders, there were those who were smuggling, conducting guerrilla activity, spying, etc.,
those found to be
illegally trading with the Confederacy,
thieves who defrauded the War Department,
or those who were
Confederate civilians in the Union.
The number of hundreds of newspapers has never been confirmed, DiLorenzo exaggerates, but newspapers who were shut down were often those who were calling for Union soldiers to desert, encouraging men to resist the draft, or advocated more states to join the confederacy - most often carried out by a few Union Officers.
One General who did arrest a newspaper published was called on the carpet by Lincoln with this:
"Under your recent order, which I have approved,
you will only arrest individuals, and suppress assemblies, or newspapers, when they may be working palpable injury to the Military in your charge; and, in no other case will you interfere with the expression of opinion in any form, or allow it to be interfere with the expression of opinion in any form, or allow it to be interfered with violently by others. In this, you have a discretion to exercise with great caution, calmness, and forebearance.”
“With the matters of removing the inhabitants of certain counties en masse; and of removing certain individuals from time to time, who are supposed to be mischievous, I am not now interfering, but I am leaving to your own discretion.”
Abraham Lincoln and Missouri