Posted on 03/03/2009 8:30:18 PM PST by reformpolitix
3/3/2009
The two predecessors Barack Obama reveres the most are Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. Obama has already taken the opportunity to follow FDR’s lead with the New Deal 2.0, better known as the Stimulus Package. Aside from the similarity that Obama and Lincoln share by being elected President after serving the State of Illinois (as Senator and Representative, respectively), I have wondered what else does Obama aspire to do as Lincoln did? It is understandable why Obama wants to emulate Abraham Lincoln since he is consistently ranked as the greatest president for holding together the union and ensuring the abolition of slavery. It is rarely taught, however, that Lincoln held this union together by disregarding the rules set forth in the constitution guiding that very union. What Abraham Lincoln showed the citizens of these United States was a disregard for law and the framework of our country in order to keep unwilling members of the country a part of that union. With dissent rising in the US on many of the same grounds the Confederate States had in the 1800’s regarding taxation laws, laws that alienate the tax base, and growing government involvement, it is important to review the actions of another Illinois-based president. Since Obama has a seemingly liberal interpretation of the Constitution coupled with an admiration and deep knowledge of Lincoln, Americans need to be aware of the tactics used by our 16th President that possibly changed the spirit of this country.
Precedence
The Declaration of Independence was the basis and the precedence for the secession of the Confederate States. In the Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers declare that we are “free and independent states” and that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it”. Our founding fathers also wrote that “when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security”, which is just what the Confederacy did less than 85 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The Emancipation Proclamation
When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, it did not abolish slavery throughout the United States, but only in the seceded states. The Emancipation Proclamation was not voted on by Congress as required by the Constitution and only affected states that were not under Union control at the time. While the US Constitution gives the President executive powers, it clearly gives these powers to uphold the law and command the military, not to create new law without the consent of Congress. Constitutional or not, it kept the Confederacy from getting foreign aid since from that date forward, the war was no longer seen as being about state’s rights, but about slavery, which no other country wanted to be perceived as supporting.
Actions Towards Confederate Sympathizers
After several pro-secession mobs in Union States, President Lincoln gave himself emergency powers and suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus for all persons considered dangerous to the public. While this writ can be suspended, as noted in Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution, this power is given to the legislative branch of government, not the executive branch. Confederates and their sympathizers found in Union states were imprisoned and given no trial in many instances (Sixth Amendment violation). The Supreme Court at the time advised that Lincoln’s actions were unconstitutional, but as Commander in Chief of the military, his suspension of Habeas Corpus was upheld under martial law. (Franklin Roosevelt used this as precedence and suspended Habeas Corpus again during World War II placing Japanese-Americans in camps. He is the only other president to suspend habeas corpus without the consent of Congress as required in the Constitution. Americans should be especially cautious of this since both of Obama’s favorite predecessors used this unconstitutional policy.) Not only was this suspension and imprisonment a direct disregard of the Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution but also of one’s freedom of speech (at stated in the First Amendment to the Constitution in the Bill of Rights). Some sources show that as many as 38,000 sympathizers were held in Union jails during the Civil War, seized without warrants and often had their property seized without due process (Fourth and Fifth Amendment violation). Newspapers were shut down and many citizens were shot in their homes by soldiers in what we would today call a “drive-by” for expressing sympathy for the Confederacy.
What is most concerning about the effects of the Civil War on the United States are that so many rights Americans believe they have, were taken away when needed them most. Abraham Lincoln was selective as to which parts of the Declaration of Independence applied since he strongly upheld the belief that “All Men are created Equal”, but not that our country is made of “free and independent states” with a right to rebel against a government. The income tax was enacted during the Civil War1, (obviously without a majority of votes, since the Union felt that the Confederate states were still a part of the Union but would not have been present to vote). This tax only emphasized the strength of the central government and reduced the perceived power of the states. Border states were disarmed, violating the Second Amendment and individual property was seized (again a Fifth Amendment violation). Women in confederate states were often required to quarter soldiers, a Third Amendment violation. The country’s first draft was enacted during the Civil War, which many thought to be unconstitutional, depriving all men over the age of 18 the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, except for those wealthy enough to legally dodge the draft2. Were the wealthy considered to be created “more than equal” than others? Abraham Lincoln waged war without the consent of congress, also authorizing treasury funds to be used for that war, which is the broadest interpretation of the powers of the president and has since been used as precedence in other wars. Historians will not teach about these acts of unconstitutionality, and Congress later passed legislation legitimizing Lincoln’s actions, making them seem less controversial to historians. Only his suspension of habeas corpus was censured by the Supreme Court, but no punishment was rendered.
What Should Be Remembered
What should be remembered, or learned, is that our union was not held together by constitutional means by a president that Barack Obama has studied deeply. He knows these tactics and so should we. Americans should be on the watch for Executive Orders that create new law without the consent of congress, punishment of those who speak out against this government, and for liberals to put spin on conservative causes in an effort to alienate them from foreign support. There is already discussion of re-enacting the Fairness Doctrine, better known in conservative circles as the Censorship Doctrine, which would allow the Obama administration to better control messages to the world and make free speech more difficult, again violating American’s First Amendment Rights. Talk is also surfacing regarding regulating the internet which would help his administration with this same cause. By disarming the border states, Lincoln did all possible to keep those who opposed him from having a means to defend themselves against an unconstitutional army. Similarly, Barack Obama has made clear his opinions on the Second Amendment and has openly opposed gun ownership. We of course expect to see higher taxes and exclusions for the wealthy and conservatives should be prepared for such policies.
What is Different in 2009
Of course, there are several distinct differences in the world in 2009 as compared to that of the 1860’s. First, the world is much larger, making it more difficult for one-sided spin. Media and information flows through millions of channels making it difficult for a country to skew information without question. Also, a cause of restoring capitalism and the United States of America as the world has known it is a much more admirable cause than slavery (whether this was the sole cause of the war is debatable, but it was the perceived cause to the foreign nations.) Most importantly, Barack Obama has not yet provided proof that he is eligible to be Commander in Chief. There are numerous pending law suits filed by individuals as well as states requiring evidence that Barack Obama is a natural born citizen and eligible to be President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the military. Obama has also openly criticized our military and to date has yet to visit any overseas troops as President. Had Lincoln not had military support, we might not have 50 United States today and this could be our key to a conservative America.
1America’s first income tax was enacted during the Civil war that was loosely enforced and repealed after the war. The income tax as we know it was created in 1913 by the 16th Amendment.
2Union soldiers could pay $300 or provision of a substitute allowed men to legally avoid the draft.
Is Janet Reno holed up in Fort Sumpter?
More like New Deal Vista version.
Only if by liberal interpretation the author means animus and total disregard. Obama sees the constitution as an obstacle to be overcome not law to be obeyed, he thinks of America as a place ripe to destroy not a place to build and protect and he views liberty as the enemy of his plan for change. History might very well record that the second American revolution happened without a shot being fired and every liberty won with the blood of patriots in the first revolution was lost in the second.
Okay, which Waffen SS...I mean, Rebel Regiment was your great-great grandpappy in? Just because Obama likes to compare himself to Lincoln (or Franklin Roosevelt) doesn’t mean that there is any comparison there. I could compare my prior military skills to Robert E. Lee, but that wouldn’t make it so. The times were different then than now, and there’s no reason to dredge up the past just to take a cheap shot at a man whose boots you’d have to need a step ladder to kiss. And yes, I know that Bobby Lee, Stonewall and Jeff Davis were planning an abolition meeting when evil Abe force Beauregard to fire on Sumter.
Obama’s plan is the same as William Ayers’s plan in 1970: Break the U.S. up into feeble, isolated parts, and invite the Mexicans, Chinese, and Russians in to feast.
Our troops overseas will have their supplies cut off, and the enemy can just overwhelm them and feast, as well.
There is PLENTY of time to accomplish this before November 2010.
Action by those who “get it” is impossible, because ANY kind of real resistance would be “violence.”
Therefore, those of us who see what Obama is doing will talk, talk, talk, blog, blog, blog for another year, while the dollar is destroyed and everyone’s life savings are wiped out. We aren’t going to get socialized health care; we are going to be herded into camps, or shot.
All before the next “election.”
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