Lincoln's Constitution

252 Pages·2011·1.207 MB·English

by  Lincoln, Abraham;USA;Farber, Daniel A

L I N CO L N ’ S
Constitution

Daniel Farber
L I N CO L N ’ S
Constitution
THE
UNIVERSITY
OF CHICAGO
PRESS
CHICAGO &
LONDON
The University of Chicago Press,Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press,Ltd.,London
©2003by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved.Published 2003
Printed in the United States of America
121110090807060504 2345
isbn:0-226-23793-1(cloth)
isbn:0-226-23796-6(paperback)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Farber,Daniel A.,1950–
Lincoln’s Constitution / Daniel Farber.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.
isbn0-226-23793-1(alk.paper)
1. Lincoln,Abraham,1809‒1865—Views on the
Constitution. 2. United States—Politics and gov-
ernment—1861‒1865. 3. Constitutional history—
United States. I. Title.
e457.2. f216 2003
342.73(cid:1)029—dc21
2002151576
(cid:1)(cid:1)The paper used in this publication meets the
minimum requirements of the American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials,ansiz39.48-1992.
To the late Gerry Gunther—
in gratitude for his friendship and support

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
chapter1:The Secession Crisis 7
chapter 2:Sovereignty 26
chapter 3:The Supreme Law of the Land 45
chapter 4:The Union Forever? 70
chapter 5:The Legitimacy of Coercion 92
chapter 6:Presidential Power 115
chapter 7:Individual Rights 144
chapter 8:The Rule of Law in Dark Times 176
Afterword:The Lessons of History 196
Notes 201
Index 235

Acknowledgments
Writing this book would have been impossible if I had not been
able to build on the extraordinary efforts of James G.Randall,
Don E.Fehrenbacher,and more recent Lincoln scholars.I owe an
equally large debt to historians of the antebellum era and the Civil
War,such as David Potter,Allan Nevins,and their successors.
I also owe special thanks to David Currie,David McGowan,and an
anonymous reader for the University of Chicago Press for their ex-
tensive comments on the entire manuscript.Additional thanks are
due to Brian Bix,Guy Charles,Jim Chen,Dianne Farber,Miranda
McGowan,and Jeff Powell for comments on individual chapters.
I am much indebted to my research assistants,Jaime Driggs,Mike
Mergens,Katie Moerke,Bill Preston,Andrew Schoenthal,and
Andrew Young.Sonia Farber corrected numerous errors in the
final manuscript.John Tryneski was a source of wise counsel and
moral support.I would be especially remiss,however,if I did not
say something about the stimulating experience of co-teaching a
seminar on Lincoln and the Constitution with Mike Paulsen.For-
tunately,the students enjoyed our vigorous debates as much as we
did,as well as providing useful insights of their own.My seminar
students at the University of Chicago also contributed greatly to
the development of my thinking.The staff of the University of
Minnesota law library was energetic and resourceful in tracking
down sources.As always,Laurie Newbauer handled many rounds
of revisions with impeccable skill.None of the aforementioned,
of course,is responsible for any errors or inaccuracies.