Lincoln as President

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. (EST)

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Leader

Matthew Pinsker

Associate Professor of History
Dickinson College

About the Seminar

Did Lincoln violate the Constitution in his actions as commander-in-chief? When and why did Lincoln change his mind about making the war about emancipation?

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Assigned Readings

To incorporate seminar texts into your teaching, we offer the National Humanities Center’s Primary Document Application Form. Civil Liberties

1. Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Constitution & Union, c. January 1861
2. Abraham Lincoln to Winfield Scott, April 25, 1861
3. Article 1, Section 9, US Constitution
4. Roger Taney, Ex Parte Merryman (published June 3, 1861) (PDF)
5. Special Message to Congress, July 4, 1861 (PDF)
6. Abraham Lincoln to Erastus Corning, June 12, 1863 (PDF)

Emancipation

1. Abraham Lincoln to Orville Browning, September 22, 1861 (PDF)
2. Second Confiscation Act, July 17, 1862
3. John Hay to Mary Jay, July 20, 1862 (PDF)
4. First Draft of Emancipation Proclamation, July 22, 1862
   • Also see the image “First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln” by Francis Bicknell Carpenter
5. Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862
6. Abraham Lincoln to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863
7. Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, September 22, 1862
8. Final Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863

Final Choices

1. Abraham Lincoln to Albert Hodges, April 4, 1864
   • Also see the page images
2. Blind Memorandum, August 23, 1864
3. Lincoln Response to Serenade, November 10, 1864
4. Matthew Pinsker, “The Limits of Presidential War Powers,” American Bar Association, Insights on Law & Society (Winter 2009), pp. 12-15. (PDF)

Presentation

PowerPoint: 1.1 MB

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Seminar Recording

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