The Life and Legacy of Abraham Lincoln, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Photos of past Ex-Parte Milligan in the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom. Click photo to enlarge.

Ex-Parte Milligan in Fort Wayne, Indiana

This interactive dramatization is co-sponsored by the Indiana Supreme Court’s ‘Courts in the Classroom’ project and The Lincoln Museum.

The Lincoln Museum will host a special educational event about the Civil War activities of Fort Wayne-area resident Lambdin Milligan. Milligan opposed the Civil War especially the call for a draft--encouraging resistance with force if necessary. In 1864, he was found guilty of treason by a military tribunal and sentenced to death. After appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, his conviction was overturned. Milligan returned to Indiana and proceeded to sue those involved with his initial conviction. Famous Hoosiers involved in Milligan’s case (and our re-enactment) include: Benjamin Harrison, Oliver P. Morton, Alvin Hovey, Thomas Hendricks, and General Benjamin Spooner.

The legal topics raised in this case are just as relevant in 2007 as they were in 1864. Issues such as habeas corpus, the jurisdiction of military courts, and freedom of speech during a war are topics hotly debated yet today. I hope you can join us at the museum for this brief, interactive re-enactment of all three of Milligan’s legal proceedings. Students get to participate as soldiers, jurors, justices, and so forth. Students will also have the opportunity to talk with a member of Fort Wayne’s legal community about the relevance of this case today.

The program is part of the educational offerings of the Indiana Supreme Court’s educational outreach program, Courts in the Classroom, and is held each March as a part of the Benjamin Harrison Day program in the Court’s Indianapolis courtroom. This is the first time it will be available in Northern Indiana! The program lasts approximately 45-60 minutes with a tour of the museum to follow.

The program is free to those schools touring the museum at a reduced school group price of $2.99/person, including teachers. To book seats at the program and tour the museum, please contact The Lincoln Museum education department at 455-5606 or 455-4517. For more information about the program, please contact Dr. Elizabeth R. Osborn, Assistant to the Chief Justice for Court History and Public Education at (317) 233-8682 or via email at eosborn@courts.state.in.us.

Materials. Download the script and create large cue cards so your students can recreate the trial themselves, then use the lesson plan for further study. This lesson plan includes a timeline, vocabulary, information about key people in the Milligan case, applicable Indiana standards, and more.

The following documents are available in Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF formats.

Document Title	MS Word	PDF
Ex Parte Milligan Comes to Life [a scripted trial based on the Indiana Civil War case of Ex parte Milligan]
Ex Parte Milligan Teacher Guide [Lesson and background material for teachers]
Read the Ex Parte Milligan case from FindLaw.com	n/a	n/a
Biography of Benjamin Harrison	n/a	n/a
Benjamin Harrison Timeline - The Politician	n/a
Benjamin Harrison Timeline - The Man	n/a

Ex Parte Milligan as Part of Benjamin Harrison Day - March 5, 2007
Students were invited to participate in the celebration of Benjamin Harrison Day at the Indiana State House on March 5, 2007. A ceremony honoring the winners of this year's Recruitment Poster Contest was held in the State House Rotunda, and the recreation of the 1871 Ex Parte Milligan case was held in the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom. The next Benjamin Harrison Day will be Tuesday March 4, 2008.