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Constitutional Problems Under Lincoln
How "executive" can a U.S. President be during wartime — and still violate and vitiate a constitutional government? Was Lincoln right when he said that unusual legal processes during a national emergency were like the surgeon's knife, because such a time is a time of cutting in order to save?
These are problems of today. And they were problems of Lincoln's time. This book, the result of fifteen years of close research by one of our widely recognized Lincoln scholars, shows the striking similarities between the constitutional problems of Lincoln's scholars shows the striking similarities between the constitutional problems of Lincoln's time and our own. And it presents the problems without getting involved in legalistic detail.
The book shows how Lincoln doubted the legal effect of the Emancipation Proclamation; how the problem of the conscientious objector was handled; how conscription was used on Presidential authority before Congress acted; how the war affected censorship of communications media; how civilians were brought to military trial — in short, it shows how this era of constitutional history during wartime is woven into the social history of that time, affecting the very lives of the people.
When CONSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS UNDER LINCOLN was first published in 1926, it was the only book among the host of Lincolniana that got at the constitutional aspects of Lincoln's Presidency. Through the years it has become basic to Lincoln scholarship. This is a much-needed new edition — completely reset, with a new foreword, some textual changes, and valuable additions to the bibliography. In his foreword to this edition Mr. Randall links the discussion to present times and deals significantly with Lincoln's attitude toward war and peace.
This new edition is here published for historians, for citizens seeking a better understanding of American constitutional history, and for admirers of Lincoln whose interest does not end with 1861 but carries over into the actual problems of his administration.
These are problems of today. And they were problems of Lincoln's time. This book, the result of fifteen years of close research by one of our widely recognized Lincoln scholars, shows the striking similarities between the constitutional problems of Lincoln's scholars shows the striking similarities between the constitutional problems of Lincoln's time and our own. And it presents the problems without getting involved in legalistic detail.
The book shows how Lincoln doubted the legal effect of the Emancipation Proclamation; how the problem of the conscientious objector was handled; how conscription was used on Presidential authority before Congress acted; how the war affected censorship of communications media; how civilians were brought to military trial — in short, it shows how this era of constitutional history during wartime is woven into the social history of that time, affecting the very lives of the people.
When CONSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS UNDER LINCOLN was first published in 1926, it was the only book among the host of Lincolniana that got at the constitutional aspects of Lincoln's Presidency. Through the years it has become basic to Lincoln scholarship. This is a much-needed new edition — completely reset, with a new foreword, some textual changes, and valuable additions to the bibliography. In his foreword to this edition Mr. Randall links the discussion to present times and deals significantly with Lincoln's attitude toward war and peace.
This new edition is here published for historians, for citizens seeking a better understanding of American constitutional history, and for admirers of Lincoln whose interest does not end with 1861 but carries over into the actual problems of his administration.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1926
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About the author
James G. Randall
24 books6 followersNamed after U.S. President James A. Garfield, James Garfield Randall was an American historian specializing on Abraham Lincoln and the era of the American Civil War. He was known for his systematic, scientific methodology based on thorough study of primary sources, his mastery of constitutional issues, and his neutrality regarding North and South.
Randall earned a B.A. degree at Butler College (1903), and a Ph.D. in history at the University of Chicago (1912). He taught at the University of Illinois, (1920–1950), where David Herbert Donald was one of his students. His multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln remains a major resource for scholars. He was president of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association 1939-1940. His wife Ruth Painter Randall wrote Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage (1953). His The Civil War and Reconstruction (1937) was for many years the most important history of the era.
Randall earned a B.A. degree at Butler College (1903), and a Ph.D. in history at the University of Chicago (1912). He taught at the University of Illinois, (1920–1950), where David Herbert Donald was one of his students. His multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln remains a major resource for scholars. He was president of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association 1939-1940. His wife Ruth Painter Randall wrote Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage (1953). His The Civil War and Reconstruction (1937) was for many years the most important history of the era.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 27, 2010
Heavy read but easy to digest and follow. Very informative. Gives a good (different) prespective on Lincoln.
April 16, 2022
Read this book then ask yourself if it makes objective sense that Lincoln was 'the greatest president in American history.' How many dead under his watch?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews