Attention focuses on the colonial era and on the first writ of habeas corpus, issued by a court of common pleas in 1670. Further, the Judiciary Act of 1789, which gave Federal courts the power to issue writs of habeas corpus, and Congress' expansion of the reach of the writ are described. Consideration is given to the Reconstruction period and to the Act of February 5, 1867; Congress markedly extended the historic boundaries of the writ by making it available to 'any person... restrained of his or her liberty in violation of the constitution ... or law of the United States.' The act also provided that petitioners for the writ may 'deny any of the material facts set forth in the return, or may allege facts.' The commencement of the modern era of habeas corpus is traced to the U.S. Supreme Court's historic 1953 decision in the Brown v. Allen case. Civil rights activity at mid-century is reviewed, as is the growth of crime in the mid-1960's. Additionally, the appointment of Supreme Court justices who acted to limit the availability of Federal habeas corpus is reported. Finally, the rules announced in Townsend v. Sain and Fay v. Noia, broadening the scope of the writ, are concluded to have helped implement a widely heralded civil rights movement that had begun in the early 1950's. Included are 233 footnotes.