How about the suspension of Habeas Corpus?
How about the Arrest of Supreme Court Justice Tanney? How about the dismissal of the Maryland Legislature to prevent that state from seceeding (and having Washington DC surrounded)? There are more ... Lincoln was quite a tyrant with a huge disregard for the constitution, which has never been completely restored.Absolutely! ...And shut down newspapers that disagreed with him; refused prisoner exchanges even when it would have benefited his own troops; after an Indian uprising in 1862 and to appease white voters, the president selected 39 Indian prisoners for execution (he later carried Minnesota); exempted 6 parishes under Union control in Louisiana and the 48 counties of western Virginia annexed by the Union,in the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves in all other CSA states....and the list goes on
Maybe you two should take another look at the history books. Lincoln never arrested Taney, never tried to have him arrested, never swore out a warrent for his arrest. That charge has been shown to be bogus time and again. Lincoln did not dismiss the Maryland legislature, something he did not have any authority to do, but he did work with the governor to ensure that the loyal members of the legislature were able to meet without being attacked. The question of whether or not the president can suspend habeas corpus has never been definitively answered, as Chief Justice William Rehnquist pointed out in a recent book. One would think that the Chief Justice would know what he was talking about, wouldn't you?
As for political prisoners, press censorship, trashing of the constitution, and all the rest, you don't have to look any further than Richmond for examples of that.