Lincoln’s Questionable Actions:

 

Declaring martial law in Maryland (arrests of southern sympathizers easily followed)

 

Blockading southern ports (a nation doesn’t block its own ports)

 

Increasing the size of the army and navy, without the approval of Congress (which they later approved)

 

Suspending the writ of habeas corpus (Congress later approved this)

 

Advancing 2 million from the Treasury for military expenditure without Congressional approval (Congress later approved this)

 

“Supervised voting” in the border states

 

These actions led to questions about increase of executive authority:

 

Were these actions Constitutional?

Do they fall within the President’s war powers or are they dictatorial?

Did sympathy for the south justify limiting a person’s civil rights?

Did Lincoln’s intent affect the Constitutionality of his actions?

Did Lincoln set precedents for future presidents to use expanded executive

    action in more questionable circumstances?