{"id":352,"date":"2026-01-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/?p=352"},"modified":"2026-01-06T14:12:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T19:12:46","slug":"presidents-in-1800s-expand-wartime-and-veto-powers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/2026\/01\/05\/presidents-in-1800s-expand-wartime-and-veto-powers\/","title":{"rendered":"Presidents in 1800s expand wartime and veto powers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Dan Stark
UConn Jour\u00adnal\u00adism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read here to learn more about expan\u00adsions of exec\u00adu\u00adtive pow\u00ader in the 1800s under Pres\u00adi\u00addents Andrew Jack\u00adson, James K. Polk and Abra\u00adham Lin\u00adcoln.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Jackson (1829\u20131837)<\/strong> <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Intro\u00adduced the spoils sys\u00adtem and expand\u00aded veto pow\u00ader <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polit\u00adi\u00adcal car\u00adtoon depict\u00ading \u201cKing Andrew Jack\u00adson,\u201d from an unknown artist. Pres\u00adi\u00addent Andrew Jack\u00adson was dubbed a \u201cking\u201d because of his expan\u00adsive exec\u00adu\u00adtive actions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Andrew Jack\u00adson took office in 1829, he sought to change the fed\u00ader\u00adal bureau\u00adcra\u00adcy, which was root\u00aded in his deep dis\u00adtrust of his polit\u00adi\u00adcal oppo\u00adnents. To do so, he imple\u00adment\u00aded a pol\u00adi\u00adcy where a new pres\u00adi\u00addent would be allowed to fire gov\u00adern\u00adment and work\u00aders and replace them with loy\u00adal\u00adists, most\u00adly made up of his polit\u00adi\u00adcal allies. Though hir\u00ading loy\u00adal\u00adists wasn\u2019t a new prac\u00adtice, fir\u00ading cur\u00adrent work\u00aders was unchart\u00aded ter\u00adri\u00adto\u00adry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move was derid\u00aded by Jackson\u2019s oppo\u00adnents, most notably Ken\u00adtucky Sen\u00ada\u00adtor Hen\u00adry Clay. In a heat\u00aded debate, New York Sen\u00ada\u00adtor William L. Mar\u00adcy, a Jack\u00adson ally, stat\u00aded that \u201cto the vic\u00adtor belongs the spoils,\u201d lead\u00ading to the prac\u00adtice being dubbed the \u201cspoils sys\u00adtem,\u201d<\/a> accord\u00ading to his\u00adto\u00adry writer Robert McNa\u00adma\u00adra. This sys\u00adtem con\u00adtin\u00adued with no checks until the Pendle\u00adton Civ\u00adil Ser\u00advice Reform Act was passed in 1883, which banned the prac\u00adtice of fir\u00ading fed\u00ader\u00adal work\u00aders for polit\u00adi\u00adcal rea\u00adsons.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson\u2019s use of veto pow\u00ader also dis\u00adtin\u00adguished him from his pre\u00adde\u00adces\u00adsors. Before him, most pres\u00adi\u00addents used the veto pow\u00ader only to dis\u00adap\u00adprove of some\u00adthing they thought uncon\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal. How\u00adev\u00ader, Jack\u00adson used this to veto leg\u00adis\u00adla\u00adtion with which he sim\u00adply dis\u00adagreed. He issued<\/a> 12 vetoes dur\u00ading his tenure, which was the most of any pres\u00adi\u00addent up until that point, accord\u00ading to Sen\u00adate records.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His most notable veto came in 1832 when he vetoed a re-char\u00adter of the Sec\u00adond Bank of the Unit\u00aded States. Jack\u00adson was a staunch oppo\u00adnent of the bank\u2019s exis\u00adtence and fre\u00adquent\u00adly clashed with Nicholas Bid\u00addle, the bank\u2019s pres\u00adi\u00addent from 1823 to 1836. In a let\u00adter to Bid\u00addle<\/a>, Jack\u00adson explained his oppo\u00adsi\u00adtion to the bank and the con\u00adcept of banks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not dis\u00adlike your bank any more than all banks. But ever since I read the his\u00adto\u00adry of the South Sea bub\u00adble I have been afraid of banks,\u201d he wrote, ref\u00ader\u00adenc\u00ading the British eco\u00adnom\u00adic cri\u00adsis of the 1720s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his veto<\/a>, he wrote that \u201csome of the pow\u00aders and priv\u00adi\u00adleges pos\u00adsessed by the exist\u00ading bank are unau\u00adtho\u00adrized by the Con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion, sub\u00adver\u00adsive of the rights of the States, and dan\u00adger\u00adous to all lib\u00ader\u00adties of the peo\u00adple\u201d and declared that it was his pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial duty to object.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of his expan\u00adsive actions, some labeled Jack\u00adson as \u201cKing Andrew the First,\u201d includ\u00ading an unknown polit\u00adi\u00adcal car\u00adtoon\u00adist<\/a> in 1832 who drew Jack\u00adson in roy\u00adal garb with the bank veto in hand.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

James K. Polk (1845\u20131849)<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tak\u00ading greater over\u00adsight over the Depart\u00adment of War<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President James K. Polk. Photo courtesy Loc's Public Domain Archive<\/p>\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Polk-2-745x1024.png\" src=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Polk-2-745x1024.png\" alt class=\"wp-image-488\" style=\"width:506px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Polk-2-745x1024.png 745w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Polk-2-218x300.png 218w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Polk-2-768x1056.png 768w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Polk-2.png 922w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 745px) 100vw, 745px\">
Por\u00adtrait of James K. Polk from his time as gov\u00ader\u00adnor of Ten\u00adnessee from 1839\u20131841. Polk most\u00adly expand\u00aded exec\u00adu\u00adtive war pow\u00aders. Pho\u00adto cour\u00adtesy Loc\u2019s Pub\u00adlic Domain Archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though he only served one term, James K. Polk expand\u00aded the scope of exec\u00adu\u00adtive pow\u00ader par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly in regard to the president\u2019s author\u00adi\u00adty as com\u00adman\u00adder-in-chief of the Armed Forces. This began in 1845 when, in response to the pend\u00ading annex\u00ada\u00adtion of Texas, Polk ordered 1,500 troops to Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Mex\u00adi\u00adcan-Amer\u00adi\u00adcan War broke out in 1846, Polk estab\u00adlished<\/a> him\u00adself as a con\u00adfronta\u00adtion\u00adal mil\u00adi\u00adtary leader by side-step\u00adping the Depart\u00adment of War to cre\u00adate war strat\u00ade\u00adgy him\u00adself. He over\u00adsaw minute details of the war like replac\u00ading offi\u00adcers and kept a close eye on deci\u00adsions made by the Depart\u00adment of War as he sought to expand\u00aded Amer\u00adi\u00adcan influ\u00adence in the West\u00adern Hemi\u00adsphere, accord\u00ading to Tim\u00ado\u00adthy C. Hem\u00admis, a his\u00adto\u00adry pro\u00adfes\u00adsor at Texas A&M Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His desire to con\u00adtrol<\/a> mul\u00adti\u00adple aspects of the war led to ten\u00adsions as those beneath him became increas\u00ading\u00adly frus\u00adtrat\u00aded, accord\u00ading to the Cen\u00adter for Greater South\u00adwest\u00adern Stud\u00adies at the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Texas at Arling\u00adton. Sim\u00adi\u00adlar to Andrew Jack\u00adson, who Polk was a loy\u00adal sup\u00adport\u00ader of ear\u00adly in his polit\u00adi\u00adcal career, he viewed any slight devi\u00ada\u00adtion from his plan as a betray\u00adal or an act of par\u00adti\u00adsan\u00adship.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abra\u00adham Lin\u00adcoln (1861\u20131865)<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reshap\u00ading the pow\u00ader of the com\u00adman\u00adder-in-chief<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Abraham Lincoln. Photo courtesy Loc's Public Domain Archive<\/p>\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Lincoln-2-847x1024.png\" src=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Lincoln-2-847x1024.png\" alt class=\"wp-image-489\" style=\"width:572px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Lincoln-2-847x1024.png 847w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Lincoln-2-248x300.png 248w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Lincoln-2-768x928.png 768w, https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Lincoln-2.png 1226w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 847px) 100vw, 847px\">
Por\u00adtrait of Abra\u00adham Lin\u00adcoln, 16th pres\u00adi\u00addent of the U.S. Lin\u00adcoln sus\u00adpend\u00aded habeas cor\u00adpus dur\u00ading the Civ\u00adil War and lim\u00adit\u00aded the free\u00addom of the press. Pho\u00adto cour\u00adtesy Loc\u2019s Pub\u00adlic Domain Archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Abra\u00adham Lin\u00adcoln came into pow\u00ader in 1861 at an unpar\u00adal\u00adleled moment in Amer\u00adi\u00adcan his\u00adto\u00adry as South\u00adern states began seced\u00ading from the Union. To respond to this, he took exten\u00adsive actions that some say made Lin\u00adcoln \u201cthe most activist Pres\u00adi\u00addent in his\u00adto\u00adry.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lin\u00adcoln trans\u00adformed \u201cthe President\u2019s role as com\u00adman\u00adder in chief and as chief exec\u00adu\u00adtive into a pow\u00ader\u00adful new posi\u00adtion,\u201d wrote Michael Burlingame<\/a> of the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Virginia\u2019s Miller Cen\u00adter and pro\u00adfes\u00adsor emer\u00adi\u00adtus at Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut Col\u00adlege, \u201cmak\u00ading the Pres\u00adi\u00addent supreme over both Con\u00adgress and the courts.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court<\/a> was a par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar tar\u00adget of Lin\u00adcoln, who, along with oth\u00ader young mem\u00adbers of the Repub\u00adli\u00adcan Par\u00adty, was still angered by the Court for the infa\u00admous Dred Scott deci\u00adsion in 1857 which declared that slaves were not Amer\u00adi\u00adcan cit\u00adi\u00adzens. Lin\u00adcoln and his par\u00adty argued that the Court only had the pow\u00ader to make deci\u00adsions on indi\u00advid\u00adual dis\u00adputes rather than larg\u00ader con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal issues, the lat\u00adter of which is the basis of judi\u00adcial review.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lin\u00adcoln and the Repub\u00adli\u00adcan-led Con\u00adgress chal\u00adlenged the Court\u2019s pow\u00ader by pass\u00ading the Ter\u00adri\u00adto\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal Slav\u00adery Act of 1862, which banned slav\u00adery in cur\u00adrent and future Amer\u00adi\u00adcan ter\u00adri\u00adto\u00adries. The great\u00adest flex\u00ading of Lincoln\u2019s exec\u00adu\u00adtive mus\u00adcle came with the pas\u00adsage of the Habeas Cor\u00adpus Sus\u00adpen\u00adsion Act of 1863.<\/a> Under the pro\u00adce\u00addure of habeas cor\u00adpus, a detained per\u00adson must be brought before a court to deter\u00admine if they have been legal\u00adly detained. How\u00adev\u00ader, the bill gave Lin\u00adcoln great pow\u00ader by sus\u00adpend\u00ading this in order to imprison those who were viewed as threats to the Union.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Pres\u00adi\u00addent of the Unit\u00aded States, when\u00adev\u00ader, in his judge\u00adment, the pub\u00adlic safe\u00adty may require it, is autho\u00adrized to sus\u00adpend the priv\u00adi\u00adlege of the writ of habeas cor\u00adpus in any case through the Unit\u00aded States, or any part there\u00adof,\u201d reads the open\u00ading para\u00adgraph of the act. \u201cAnd when\u00adev\u00ader and wher\u00adev\u00ader the said priv\u00adi\u00adlege shall be sus\u00adpend\u00aded, as afore\u00adsaid, no mil\u00adi\u00adtary or oth\u00ader offi\u00adcer shall be com\u00adpelled, in answer to any writ of habeas cor\u00adpus, to return the body of any per\u00adson or per\u00adsons detained by him by author\u00adi\u00adty of the Pres\u00adi\u00addent.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was also a great effort by Lincoln\u2019s admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion to lim\u00adit free\u00addom of the press<\/a> through\u00adout the Civ\u00adil War. Accord\u00ading to David Asp of the Free Speech Cen\u00adter at Mid\u00addle Ten\u00adnessee State Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty, news\u00adpa\u00adper edi\u00adtors and reporters were reg\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly arrest\u00aded for var\u00adi\u00adous rea\u00adsons, includ\u00ading speak\u00ading against the draft or writ\u00ading state\u00adments that the gov\u00adern\u00adment viewed as being pro-South or vague\u00adly anti-Union. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHan\u00addling dis\u00adsent in the North pre\u00adsent\u00aded an unprece\u00addent\u00aded dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty for the Lin\u00adcoln admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion,\u201d wrote Asp. \u201cFrom the start of Lincoln\u2019s pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adcy, the North\u00adern press gave voice to many of his crit\u00adics. News\u00adpa\u00adpers argued that seces\u00adsion was the inevitable con\u00adse\u00adquence of his pol\u00adi\u00adcy toward the South. As the war dragged on, the oppo\u00adsi\u00adtion press grew loud\u00ader, demand\u00ading com\u00adpro\u00admise with the Con\u00adfed\u00ader\u00ada\u00adcy to halt the blood\u00adshed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basic free speech also came under attack dur\u00ading the war. For\u00admer Con\u00adgress\u00adman Clement Val\u00adlandigham gave a speech refer\u00adring to the pres\u00adi\u00addent as \u201cKing Lin\u00adcoln\u201d and call\u00ading for his removal from office, he was arrest\u00aded four days lat\u00ader and was sen\u00adtenced to prison for the rest of the war, accord\u00ading to Asp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
BACK TO GALLERY<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
1900s<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
2000s<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dan StarkU\u00adConn Jour\u00adnal\u00adism Read here to learn more about expan\u00adsions of exec\u00adu\u00adtive pow\u00ader in the 1800s under Pres\u00adi\u00addents Andrew Jack\u00adson, James K. Polk and Abra\u00adham Lin\u00adcoln. Andrew Jack\u00adson (1829\u20131837)  Intro\u00adduced the spoils sys\u00adtem and expand\u00aded veto pow\u00ader When Andrew Jack\u00adson took office in 1829, he sought to change the fed\u00ader\u00adal bureau\u00adcra\u00adcy, which was root\u00aded in his deep dis\u00adtrust of his [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":972,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[147,127,138,108,91,126,150,151],"class_list":["post-352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-presidents","tag-1800s","tag-abraham-lincoln","tag-andrew-jackson","tag-constitution","tag-executive-power","tag-habeas-corpus","tag-james-k-polk","tag-war"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":338,"url":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/2026\/01\/05\/exec-power-in-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":352,"position":0},"title":"History shows how presidents expand power","author":"Dan Stark","date":"January 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Dan Stark, Mikayla Bunnell & Lily GoldblattUConn JournalismDiscover how different U.S. presidents have expanded the scope of the executive branch since the 1800s in the visualization below. To read more about presidential expansions of power in each century, click on the links below.\u00a0 1800s 1900s 2000s 1800s 1900s 2000s","rel":"","context":"In "Executive Power"","block_context":{"text":"Executive Power","link":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/category\/executive-power\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/Screen-Shot-2025-11-10-at-5.26.37-PM-e1762813637658.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/Screen-Shot-2025-11-10-at-5.26.37-PM-e1762813637658.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/Screen-Shot-2025-11-10-at-5.26.37-PM-e1762813637658.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/Screen-Shot-2025-11-10-at-5.26.37-PM-e1762813637658.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":359,"url":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/2026\/01\/05\/impeachments\/","url_meta":{"origin":352,"position":1},"title":"Impeachments","author":"Mikayla Bunnell","date":"January 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Capitol in Washington DC at night on Oct. 21, 2025. Articles of impeachment are introduced and passed by the House of Representatives and tried by the Senate. Photo by Lily Goldblatt. While the House has the sole power to bring about an impeachment according to Article 2, Section 2,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Constitution"","block_context":{"text":"Constitution","link":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/category\/constitution\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/DC_capitol_at_night_10212025-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/DC_capitol_at_night_10212025-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/DC_capitol_at_night_10212025-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/DC_capitol_at_night_10212025-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/DC_capitol_at_night_10212025-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/11\/DC_capitol_at_night_10212025-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":365,"url":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/2026\/01\/05\/how-20th-century-presidents-grew-power-at-home-and-abroad\/","url_meta":{"origin":352,"position":2},"title":"How 20th century presidents grew power at home and abroad","author":"Dan Stark","date":"January 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Mikayla BunnellUConn Journalism Read more to learn about expansions of executive power under presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan. Franklin D. Roosevelt\u00a0(1933-1945)\u00a0 Expansions under the New Deal and a proposed way to reshape the Supreme Court Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the presidency to more than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "presidents"","block_context":{"text":"presidents","link":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/category\/presidents\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Roosevelt-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Roosevelt-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Roosevelt-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Roosevelt-2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Roosevelt-2.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/files\/2025\/12\/Roosevelt-2.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":347,"url":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/balance-of-power\/2026\/01\/05\/due-process\/","url_meta":{"origin":352,"position":3},"title":"Due Process","author":"Mikayla Bunnell","date":"January 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Connecticut ACLU Legal Director Dan Barrett at the University of Connecticut on Sept. 25, 2025. Barrett said that due process is an integral part of democracy. Photo by Elijah Polance. 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