Yep he sure did. Even he know it was shaky ground at best and Unconstitutional at worst. He was willing to be the bad guy and held responsible for his actions if the post war courts would say so. That is a far cry from someone who was wanting to be a despot.

Originally Posted by: wpr 

And in their own time, the Founders were right. But that was then and this is now. They didn't suitcase nukes, airliners full of jet fuel, a barrel of radioactive waste that could make a large part of a major city unlivable for centuries, etc. The transportation technology back then didn't exist to bring the evils of "over there" to over here.

Freedom to be ALIVE is a powerful freedom. Before you can be free to not have that state oppress you; before you can use the freedom to speak out against that oppression - or anything else; Before you can have the freedom to live life the way you see fit to maximize your enjoyment, YOU HAVE TO NOT BE DEAD!

"Those who would give up freedom for security deserve neither"? Nope! I'm here to tell you, Security i.e. Freedom to be Alive IS freedom - the ultimate freedom.

Originally Posted by: texaspackerbacker 

I've never thought of him as a despot. But the choices he was willing to make with respect to various freedoms in the name of preserving the Union, do leave me with some ambivalence toward him that I didn't have back when I was a kid and thought he was the greatest President since Washington.

Originally Posted by: Wade 

In particular, Lincoln stated the objection this way: that the president, "who is sworn to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed,' should not himself violate them."

But when he addressed Congress on July 4, 1861, Lincoln defended his decision on two grounds: that it was essential to preserving the Union and that it was constitutional.

"Are all the laws, but one, to go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated?" Lincoln asked. "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?"

And Lincoln cited the provision in the Constitution - Article I, Section 9, clause 2 - that authorized his action: "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.''