[quidnunc]

sobieski wrote: Lincoln was a typical descendant of the Puritans who moved from New England: self-righteous and, well, puritanical. He pulled a coup de etat on our Constitution (suspension of habeous corpus, denying the right of seccession, arresting state legislators, suspending newspapers, instituting the draft, total war, & etc). He was a monster.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. – The United States Constitution, Article. I., Section. 9., Clause 2

[metesky]

They always seem to miss that part of the Constitution, don't they? He he.

A genuinely American conservatism, then, must...

There's something about being told what I must do or what I must think in order to consider myself conservative that really gets my back up.

[sobieski]

There was no "rebellion", since the South simply pulled out of the Union. This was recognized by New England in the 1830s, when they threatened secession. The North attacked the South, and the North suspended the Constitution.

[rustbucket]

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. – The United States Constitution, Article. I., Section. 9., Clause 2

As you no doubt know, that is the part of the Constitution that addresses legislative powers, not powers of the president. As Chief Justice John Marhall said: "If at any time, the public safety should require the suspension of the powers vested by this act in the courts of the United States, it is for the legislature to say so. That question depends on political considerations, on which the legislature is to decide; until the legislative will be expressed, this court can only see its duty, and must obey the laws."

Lincoln simply ignored the ex parte Merryman ruling against him concerning habeas corpus. His troops also arrested a Maryland judge who tried to obey ex parte Merryman. So much for the rule of law.

[thatdewd]

quidnunc: The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. ? The United States Constitution, Article. I., Section. 9., Clause 2

LOL, so you think Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and all the other northern States were in Rebellion? Ol' Abe suspended Habeas Corpus in all those places and had thousands and thousands and thousands of his political opponents and critics in the press arrested without charge and thrown into prison cells, some for years. The Supreme Court ruled his tyrannical actions to be unconstitutional. Can you say "Police State"?