Lincoln's Constitution
256 pages
|
6 x 9
|
© 2003
In Lincoln's Constitution Daniel Farber leads the reader to understand exactly how Abraham Lincoln faced the inevitable constitutional issues brought on by the Civil War. Examining what arguments Lincoln made in defense of his actions and how his words and deeds fit into the context of the times, Farber illuminates Lincoln's actions by placing them squarely within their historical moment. The answers here are crucial not only for a better understanding of the Civil War but also for shedding light on issues-state sovereignty, presidential power, and limitations on civil liberties in the name of national security-that continue to test the limits of constitutional law even today.
Association of American Publishers: PROSE Book Award
Won
"In his illuminating and unexpectedly timely book, Daniel Farber sets out to evaluate Lincoln's wartime decisions by taking seriously the legal arguments that Lincoln offered to justify them. By and large, Farber concludes, Lincoln did quite well in respecting constitutional boundaries during the greatest constitutional crisis in American history. . . . Despite the great legal and technological differences between the scope of federal power today and in Lincoln's time, one lesson emerges clearly from Farber's narrative, and it is the danger of putting too little or too much faith in law during times of national emergency."—Jeffrey Rosen, New Republic
"A timely and important book, which should provoke fruitful discussion of enduring issues of civil liberties and judicial philosophy."
"[Lincoln's Constitution] is a very intelligent book in what, it must be said, is a dangerous genre--dangerous in that it goes beyond Gienapp's careful siting of Lincoln within history, to mix freely historical and contemporary legal analysis. Farber examines secession, sovereignty, civil liberties and a host of other issues in both their historical and contemporary meanings--doing so, he says, out of the awareness that the Civil War is past, but also present for Americans; we still live the repercussions both legal and political. Lincoln's Constitution is a successful book."—
Kenneth Anderson, Times Literary Supplement
2003 Annual Award, Association of American Publishers Professional/Scholarly Publishing Division (Law)
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Secession Crisis
Chapter 2: Sovereignty
Chapter 3: The Supreme Law of the Land
Chapter 4: The Union Forever?
Chapter 5: The Legitimacy of Coercion
Chapter 6: Presidential Power
Chapter 7: Individual Rights
Chapter 8: The Rule of Law in Dark Times
Afterword: The Lessons of History
Notes
Index
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Secession Crisis
Chapter 2: Sovereignty
Chapter 3: The Supreme Law of the Land
Chapter 4: The Union Forever?
Chapter 5: The Legitimacy of Coercion
Chapter 6: Presidential Power
Chapter 7: Individual Rights
Chapter 8: The Rule of Law in Dark Times
Afterword: The Lessons of History
Notes
Index
For more information, or to order this book, please visit http://www.press.uchicago.edu
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History: American History
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