Oath of Office as President of the United States: Lincoln v. Trump

[David Lockmiller]

Amy has given me permission to post our private correspondence.

Amy L. Wrote: Dear David,

Thank you for your comment on the Forum.
I hope you do not mind that I send a message privately, but... I do not follow the intent of the quote in relation to my supposition. I must unfortunately have it clearly spelled out to follow.

Are you inferring that because Lincoln refers directly to Slavery, that he did not shirk from Abolitionist intent? (He was a different man after some time in the presidency than at the time of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.)

(The 2nd Inaugural is so moving; although read several times, it doesn't lose its power to stir.)

Best regards,
Amy

I responded thereto as follows:

Amy,

You stated in your post that Lincoln "was fine to let [slavery] stay where it was . . . ."

I disagree with that portion of your statement.

I made the following post on the anniversary of President Lincoln’s birthday in 2016. (Post #36 at Books over 15,000 to Discuss; Thirteenth Amendment.)

Senator John B. Alley, in “Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln by Distinguished Men of His Time,” Allen Thorndike Rice, 1888, pp. 573-591, [made some] interesting observations regarding the character of Abraham Lincoln. In one passage at page 577, Senator Alley said: “In small and unimportant matters, Mr. Lincoln was so yielding that many thought his excessive amiability was born of weakness. But, in matters of vital importance, he was as firm as a rock.” On page 582-83, Senator Alley also stated: “No man was ever more thoroughly imbued with the conviction of the wickedness and cruelty of slavery than Mr. Lincoln.” [End of quotation from Comment.]

After Lincoln became President and took the oath of office, he immediately had the power to pardon those persons convicted of federal crimes. A petition was sent to Senator Alley from the city of Newburyport, in the Congressman’s district, numerously signed, praying the President to pardon a man in jail in that city.

He had been convicted of commanding a vessel engaged in the slave-trade, and was sentenced to several years’ imprisonment and a fine of one thousand dollars. He had served out his term of imprisonment, but he could not pay his fine. The petition was accompanied by a letter, from the prisoner, to the President, and by a request that I would present the petition and letter to Mr. Lincoln in person. The letter contained an urgent and pathetic appeal for pardon, acknowledging the crime and the justice of the sentence, and declaring that he must spend his life in prison if the condition of freedom was the payment of that fine, for he had not a cent in the world. The President read the letter and petition, and remarked: “I believe I am kindly enough in nature and can be moved to pity and to pardon the perpetrator of almost the worst crime that mind of man can conceive or the arm of man can execute; but any man, who, for paltry gain and stimulated only by avarice, can rob African of her children to sell into interminable bondage, I never will pardon, and he may stay and rot in jail before he will ever get relief from me.” (“Reminiscences,” Chapter XXXII, p. 583.)

Amy, you state in the same sentence of your thread post: “Lincoln refused the label of Abolitionist.”

Abolishment of slavery would be a “King’s cure” and Abraham Lincoln would be (if elected) only the President of the United States, not King.

The Presidential oath of office reads: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

President Lincoln explained his “constitutional” actions during his term in office regarding the issue of abolishment of slavery to Mr. George Thompson, the English anti-slavery orator, on the morning of April 7, 1864 at the White House, following Mr. Thompson’s address in the House of Representatives the previous day to a large audience with President Lincoln in attendance:

"Mr. Thompson, the people of Great Britain and of other foreign governments were in one great error in reference to this conflict. They seemed to think that, the moment I was President, I had the power to abolish slavery, forgetting that, before I could have any power whatever, I had to take the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and execute the laws as I found them. When the Rebellion broke out, my duty did not admit of a question. That was, first, by all strictly lawful means to endeavor to maintain the integrity of the government. I did not consider that I had a right to touch the 'State' institution of 'Slavery' until all other measures for restoring the Union had failed. The paramount idea of the constitution is the preservation of the Union. It may not be specified in so many words, but that this was the idea of its founders is evident; for, without the Union, the constitution would be worthless. It seems clear, then, that in the last extremity, if any local institution threatened the existence of the Union, the Executive could not hesitate as to his duty. In our case, the moment came when I felt that slavery must die that the nation might live!" (Six Months at the White House, F.B. Carpenter, Chapter XXIV, p. 76 (1879).)

According to Doris Kearns Goodwin, as a Republican candidate for President, Lincoln “crafted” his Cooper Union Address regarding the issue of slavery which was logically consistent with the history of the Constitution, appropriate to the circumstances at the time, and in keeping with his own perception of the constitutional powers of the Presidency:

Lincoln had labored to craft his address for many weeks, extensively researching the attitudes of the founding gathers toward slavery. He took as the text for his discourse a speech in which Senator Douglas has said of slavery: “Our fathers, when they framed the Government under which we live, understood this question just as well, and even better, than we do now.” Fully endorsing this statement, Lincoln examined the beliefs and actions of the founders, concluding that they had marked slavery “as an evil not be extended, but to be tolerated and protected only because of and so far as its actual presence among us makes that toleration and protection a necessity.” (Team of Rivals, page 231.)

Amy, I should have prefaced my post in response to your post with these statements . . . but I am just too lazy and a very poor typist. I hope that all of this has made sense to you. If you have any additional questions on this or a related subject, please let me know.

Yours truly,
David

On July 23, 2019, The Washington Post reported:

President Trump believes the Constitution gives him a wide breadth of power. That’s the message he delivered ― not for the first time — on Tuesday while addressing a crowd of teenagers and young adults at the Turning Point USA Teen Student Action Summit in Washington.

There are numerous viral video clips from Trump’s 80-minute speech at the conference, but one of the most controversial moments came as he discussed Article II of the Constitution, which describes the powers of the president.

“Then, I have an Article II, where I have to the right to do whatever I want as president. But I don’t even talk about that.”

Article II grants the president “executive power.” It does not indicate the president has total power. Article II is the same part of the Constitution that describes some of Congress’s oversight responsibilities, including over the office of the presidency. It also details how the president may be removed from office via impeachment.

(Story was titled “While bemoaning Mueller probe, Trump falsely says the Constitution gives him ‘the right to do whatever I want’”)