Yes I have, and no I don't need to be part of that discussion. But since you've waded through it please point out one illegal action that Lincoln took?
I'm not inviting your cut and paste talents into the other discussion, I was introducing this infomation into your discussion. What illegal actions did Lincoln take? I don't know. In your world an act of war against a peaceful people who chose to form their own government (a bedrock of our republic) is not an illegal act. I guess if it isn't enumerated or declared in the Constitution then it isn't illegal. It sure pissed us off and we almost whipped your little peni's despite overwhelming odds. To this day we have people calling us traitors and turncoats and lauding themselves as patriots because they rebeled against the king.
How many examples would you like? Here are a few.
SOURCE: Daniel A. Farber, Lincoln's Constitution, 2003, p. 196-7.
Farber does his utmost to offer any possible legal fig leaf to put over the UNLAWFUL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL acts of Abraham Lincoln, however, even he finds the task impossible at times. Some of the acts were so clearly and blatantly UNLAWFUL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL that Farber throws in the towel and just says so.
Military jurisdiction was extended beyond constitutional bounds in the North; money was spent and the military expanded without the necessary authority from Congress; and freedom of speech was sometimes infringed. Not a perfect record, but a creditable one, under incredibly trying circumstances.
SOURCE: Abraham Lincoln; Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois; January 27, 1838; The Perpetuation of our Political Institutions.
Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap -- let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; -- let it be written in Primmers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; -- let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.
When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the laws, let me not be understood as saying there are no bad laws, nor that grievances may not arise, for the redress of which, no legal provisions have been made. I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed.
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Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defence. Let those [materials] be moulded into general intelligence, [sound] morality and, in particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws....