Lincoln Broke Our Constitution

[Rob Wick]

Feldman isn't the first writer to propose this. James McPherson did the same thing when he wrote "Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution." I imagine if I had access to my Lincoln books right now (I'm in the process of replacing my bookcases, and the books are scattered around the house) I could find others who did the same thing.

I'm curious David as to why you didn't include the rest of what Feldman wrote about waging war on the Confederacy? He writes, "He did this even though his predecessor, James Buchanan, and Buchanan’s attorney general, Jeremiah Black, had concluded that neither the president nor Congress had the lawful authority to coerce the citizens of seceding states to stay in the Union without their democratic consent. Coercive war, they had argued, repudiated the idea of consent of the governed on which the Constitution was based."

I think basing an argument on the nonsense spouted by Buchanan or Black is a weak argument at the outset. Even more so, once the Confederacy attacked federal installations, Lincoln had a clear path to keep other installations from being attacked. Feldman's first point is utter hogwash.

The rest of Feldman's argument again is nothing new. His second point is about as weak as his first. James Randall did a great deal of study on these questions in a book published almost 100 years ago. I would have to read Feldman's book before making any other arguments for or against it, but if the first two are any indication, I think this might be one I'll avoid.

Best
Rob