On the third floor of the Sims Memorial Library, history and political science professor Ronald Traylor, who is an expert in the field of slavery and reconstruction, delivered the last lecture of the Lincoln lecture series before the official closing ceremony. Traylor’s discussion focused on the right to habeas corpus during the civil war.
From the start of the lecture, the area reserved for the lecture was packed with students from Traylor’s class as well as students from other classes who came to hear his lecture.
“My purpose is to share the thought process of the former president of the United States,” said Traylor.
The exhibit looked at how President Lincoln managed the secession of Southern states, slavery and wartime civil liberties which were the three main troubles that were hot topics during of the Civil War.
The phrase “habeas corpus” is Latin for “you shall have the body,” and it is a legal action in the United States that states the means through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention.
“Habeas corpus gets you released from unlawful detention,” said Traylor. “Even though habeas corpus, may release you, it does not prevent the arrest from happening.”
During the lecture, professor Traylor gave many facts about habeas corpus such as how it originated in 1679 to stop the wrongful imprisonment.
Traylor also told of habeas corpus being put to use in other countries under different names, but still entitled all citizens to the rights that the law entitles them to.
A closing ceremony for the Lincoln exhibit was held on March 24, at 2 p.m. and featured JoAnne Berry, a volunteer with the library’s cataloguing department, as a keynote speaker.
The Lincoln lecture series was held as part of the traveling exhibit named Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War. Southeastern’s library was one of the 50 sites in the United States to host the Lincoln exhibit.
The Lincoln exhibit was open to all who wanted to see it from Feb. 9 to March 25 with all lectures being at 2 p.m.
For more information on the events held in the Sims Memorial Library, visit their website from the link on Southeastern’s website or call at 985-549-3962.