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Lincoln’s Presidency
An Online Professional Development
Seminar
GOALS
 To deepen understanding of the critical decisions
Abraham Lincoln made as a war-time president
 To provide fresh approaches and materials with which
to teach Lincoln’s presidency
FROM THE FORUM
Challenges, Issues, Questions
 Deeper knowledge beyond the highlights:
Lincoln-Douglas Debates,
election as a cause of the Civil War,
the Emancipation Proclamation,
the Gettysburg Address,
the assassination
 How did Lincoln’s views on slavery and emancipation evolve?
 Was Lincoln justified in suspending civil liberties during the Civil War?
Did he violate the Constitution as commander-in-chief?
 What accounts for his ongoing popularity?
Matthew Pinsker
Associate Professor of History,
Pohanka Chair in American Civil War History
Dickinson College
Research focuses on the career of Abraham
Lincoln, partisanship in the Civil War era,
American constitutionalism, the Underground
Railroad and the history of U.S. campaigns
and elections.
Civil Liberties
Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Constitution & Union, c. January 1861
“The assertion of that principle, at that time, was the word, "fitly spoken" which
has proved an "apple of gold" to us. The Union, and the Constitution, are the
picture of silver, subsequently framed around it. The picture was made, not to
conceal, or destroy the apple; but to adorn, and preserve it. The picture was
made for the apple not the apple for the picture.”
Discussion Question
Did Lincoln believe there were principles higher than the Constitution?
Discussion
Question
Why did Lincoln
feel so pressured
to act aggressively
in Maryland in
1861?
Civil Liberties
Abraham Lincoln to Winfield Scott, April 25, 1861
“I therefore conclude that it is only left to the commanding General to watch, and await their action [by
the Maryland legislature]… [and] to adopt the most prompt, and efficient means to counteract
[secession], even, if necessary, to the bombardment of their cities---and, of course, in the extremest
necessity, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.”
Civil Liberties
Article 1, Section 9, US Constitution
“The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when
in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.”
Discussion Question
Which branch has the power to suspend civil liberties according to the Constitution?
Civil Liberties
Roger Taney, Ex Parte Merryman (published June 3, 1861)
“I can only say that if the authority which the constitution has confided to the
judiciary department and judicial officers, may thus, upon any pretext or under
any circumstances, be usurped by the military power, at its discretion, the
people of the United States are no longer living under a government of laws.”
Discussion Question
Why was Chief Justice Taney so dismissive of President Lincoln’s claims under the “military
power”?
Civil Liberties
Special Message to Congress, July 4, 1861
“And this issue embraces more than the fate of these United States….It forces us to ask:
‘Is there, in all republics, this inherent, and fatal weakness?’’ "Must a government, of
necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its
own existence?’”
. . .
“To state the question more directly, are all the laws, but one, to go unexecuted, and the
government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated? Even in such a case, would
not the official oath be broken, if the government should be overthrown, when it was
believed that disregarding the single law, would tend to preserve it? But it was not
believed that this question was presented. It was not believed that any law was
violated.”
. . .
“It was with the deepest regret that the Executive found the duty of employing the war
power, in defense of the Government, forced upon him. He could but perform this duty
or surrender the existence of the Government….In full view of his great responsibility he
has, so far, done what he has deemed his duty. You will now, according to your own
judgment, perform yours.”
Civil Liberties
Abraham Lincoln to Erastus Corning, June 12, 1863
“Yet, thoroughly imbued with a reverence for the guaranteed rights of individuals, I
was slow to adopt the strong measures, which by degrees I have been forced
to regard as being within the exceptions of the constitution, and as
indispensable to the public Safety. Nothing is better known to history than that
courts of justice are utterly incompetent to such cases.”
Discussion Question
Why was Lincoln so dismissive of courts and judges in wartime civil liberties cases?
Emancipation
Abraham Lincoln to Orville Browning, September 22, 1861
“And the same is true of slaves. If the General needs them, he can seize them, and use
them; but when the need is past, it is not for him to fix their permanent future condition.
That must be settled according to laws made by law—makers, and not by military
proclamations. The proclamation in the point in question, is simply "dictatorship." It
assumes that the general may do anything he pleases———confiscate the lands and
free the slaves of loyal people, as well as of disloyal ones. And going the whole figure I
have no doubt would be more popular with some thoughtless people, than that which
has been done! But I cannot assume this reckless position; nor allow others to assume
it on my responsibility. You speak of it as being the only means of saving the
government. On the contrary it is itself the surrender of the government. Can it be
pretended that it is any longer the government of the U.S.———any government of
Constitution and laws,———wherein a General, or a President, may make permanent
rules of property by proclamation? I do not say Congress might not with propriety pass a
law, on the point, just such as General Fremont proclaimed. I do not say I might not, as
a member of Congress, vote for it. What I object to, is, that I as President, shall
expressly or impliedly seize and exercise the permanent legislative functions of the
government.”
Discussion Question
In his 1861 letter to Browning, wasn’t Lincoln explaining why an emancipation proclamation would
be unconstitutional?
Emancipation
Second Confiscation Act, July 17, 1862
“Section 9. And be it further enacted, That all slaves of persons who shall
hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the government of the United
States, or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from
such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all slaves
captured from such persons or deserted by them and coming under the
control of the government of the United States; and all slaves of such person
found on [or] being within any place occupied by rebel forces and afterwards
occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be deemed captives of war,
and shall be forever free of their servitude, and not again held as slaves.”
Discussion Question
What is the relationship between congressional confiscation policy and Lincoln’s emancipation
proclamation?
John Hay to Mary Jay, July 20, 1862
“The President himself has been, out of pure devotion to what he considers the
best interests of humanity, the bulwark of the institution he abhors, for a year.
But he will not conserve slavery much longer. When next he speaks in relation
to this defiant and ungrateful villainy it will be with no uncertain sound. Even
now he speaks more boldly and sternly to slaveholders than to the world. If I
have sometimes been impatient of his delay I am so no longer.”
Discussion Question
What does John Hay appear to be describing in his letter to Mary Jay on Sunday afternoon, July
20, 1862?
First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln,
Francis Biknell Carpenter, oil on canvas, 1864
Discussion Question
Why did Lincoln change his mind less than one year after warning Orville Browning that
emancipation proclamations were “dictatorship”?
Emancipation
Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862
“As to the policy I "seem to be pursuing" as you say, I have not meant to leave
any one in doubt. I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way
under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the
nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was." If there be those who would not
save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not
agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they
could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My
paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save
or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I
would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I
could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.”
Discussion Question
Was Lincoln outlining his true position in this letter to Greeley? How does understanding context
complicate the meaning of this document?
Emancipation
“And, as a fit and necessary military measure for effecting this object, I, as
Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, do order and
declare that on the first day of January in the year of Our Lord one thousand,
eight hundred and sixtythree, all persons held as slaves within any state or
states, wherein the constitutional authority of the United States shall not then
be practically recognized, submitted to, and maintained, shall then,
thenceforward, and forever, be free.” (July 22, 1862)
_____________
“And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare
that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of
States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive
government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities
thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.”
(January 1, 1863)
Discussion Question
What has changed in the emancipation sentence from July 22 to January 1?
Emancipation
Final Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863
“And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all
violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in
all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. And I
further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will
be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts,
positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said
service.”
Discussion Question
In this sentence, Lincoln addresses former slaves directly for the first time. How does he define
freedom for them?
Emancipation
Final Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863
“And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the
Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of
mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.”
Discussion Question
Nothing like this sentence appears in any earlier draft of emancipation? How does this final
addition change the meaning of the policy?
Emancipation
Abraham Lincoln to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863
“You dislike the emancipation proclamation; and, perhaps would have it
retracted—— You say it is unconstitutional—— I think differently. I think the
constitution invests its commander—in—chief, with the law of war in time of
war.”
Discussion Question
What does Lincoln mean by “the law of war”?
Final Choices
Abraham Lincoln to Albert Hodges, April 4, 1864
"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not
remember when I did not so think, and feel. And yet I have never understood
that the Presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted right to act officially
upon this judgment and feeling.”
. . .
“Was it possible to lose the nation, and yet preserve the Constitution? By general
law life and limb must be protected; yet often a limb must be amputated to
save a life; but a life is never wisely given to save a limb. I felt that measures,
otherwise unconstitutional, might become lawful, by becoming indispensable
to the preservation of the Constitution, through the preservation of the nation.
Right or wrong, I assumed this ground, and now avow it.”
Discussion Question
Why does Lincoln separate his personal belief from his public duty?
Did Lincoln believe that the Constitution changed during wartime?
Final Choices
Blind Memorandum, August 23, 1864
“This morning, as for some days
past, it seems exceedingly
probable that this Administration
will not be re-elected. Then it will
be my duty to so co-operate with
the President elect, as to save the
Union between the election and
the inauguration; as he will have
secured his election on such
ground that he can not possibly
save it afterwards.”
Discussion Question
What was Lincoln trying to
accomplish with this secret
memorandum from August
1864?
Abraham Lincoln. Memorandum, August 23, 1864.
Holograph document. Robert Todd Lincoln Papers, Library
of Congress (204)
Final Choices
Lincoln Response to Serenade, November 10, 1864
“It has long been a grave question whether any government, not too strong for the
liberties of its people, can be strong enough to maintain its own existence, in
great emergencies.”
. . .
“But the election was a necessity. We can not have free government without
elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national
election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us.”
Discussion Question
Lincoln asked the question about the strength of government in his July 4, 1861 special message to
Congress. Why does he raise it again now, after his reelection?
Lincoln suspended civil liberties and emancipated slaves, but he refused to cancel elections. Why did he
believe that “free government” demanded regular political contests but not strict interpretations of the
Constitution?
Final Slide.
Thank You