[american spirit]

That's pretty fascinating info and when you mentioned Lincoln working under an "amended" version of the Constitution, wasn't that due to the fact that essentially Congress was in effect told to go home "sine die" which I think means "without the day" and was never properly adjourned. At this time, didn't Lincoln exert some sort of executive privilege and thus became the first President to bypass the Constitution and issue "executive orders" because of the turmoil between the states that lead to the CW?

[Publius]

It was Lincoln's successors who ruled under a version of the Constitution heavily amended by the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, but the 14th was the key. I wasn't actually referring to Lincoln in that sentence.

Remember, I'm only summarizing an essay I read that I can't find anymore.