Note 173 — X THE PRICE THAT HAD TO BE PAID

Many so-called “non-intercourse acts” were passed during the Civil War. These authorized the President both to prohibit and to license and permit intercourse and trade with belligerent territory. Under these acts President Lincoln permitted the purchase of cotton in the south, and his procedure was upheld by the United States Supreme Court on the ground that “the United States has power to permit intercourse with an enemy during the time of war.”