[4CJ]

Rather, he is saying that he believes that the circumstances he describes really do have the legitimate power to convert a presidential act from unconstitutional and unlawful (in other, perhaps normal, circumstances) to being genuinely constitutional and lawful at the time it is taken. Am I being clear?

If Congress had exercised them they were legal. He was of the opinion that he himself lacked those powers, and hoped that Congress would legitimize his actions in the future. Perfectly clear.

[davidjquackenbush]

The letter is talking about his action in the Emancipation Proclamation, no?