Shortly after Abraham Lincoln was elected president South Carolina followed by 10 more southern slave states began seceding from the Union. What a way to begin one's presidency Lincoln understood from the start what was that stake and He was willing to do what he had to do in order to preserve the Union Although he is credited with ending slavery his number-one goal was to save the Union regarding slavery Lincoln famously wrote "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that What I do about slavery and the colored race I do because I believe it helps save the Union." In order to save the Union Abraham Lincoln was willing to take risks and stretch the limits of presidential authority. Our democratic system relies on separation of powers and checks and balances between the three branches of government. However many of the things that Lincoln did could be viewed as undemocratic under normal circumstances but he was willing to do them because he understood that the very survival of the nation hung in the balance. When it seemed that hostilities were imminent, Abraham Lincoln did not wait for Congress to act. Without congressional approval he called up state militias and raised an army. In Baltimore Maryland, an important border state, many people denounced the war in argued for secession. In order to suppress secessionist sentiment, Lincoln declared martial law in Maryland, imposing direct military control of normal civilian government. In some states Lincoln suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus. What this meant was that he authorized the arrest and indefinite imprisonment of anyone he suspected of having or publishing anti-government views without giving them a trial This basic civil right can be suspended in times of crisis. However it is a power that is given to Congress not the president Lincoln also had to contend with political divisions in the north. A group of Democrats opposed to the war known as Copperheads were very critical of Lincoln and the prosecution of the war. In one well-known case Lincoln supported the arrest of a former Ohio congressman and Copperhead named Clement Vallandigham After he delivered a speech in 1863 criticizing the president and calling for an end to the war Vallandigham was sentenced to close confinement until the end of the war and he was not given a trial Many argue that this suppression of free speech was unconstitutional. Others argue that it was a necessary step to take in order to preserve the Union. Another perhaps unconstitutional step that Lincoln took was issuing the Emancipation Proclamation which declared that all slaves in the Confederacy, not the border states mind you, were free. If you recall in 1857 the Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property which the government could not interfere with. Remember the Dred Scott Case? Lincoln justified the order as a military measure thus removing it from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Roger Taney who was still on the bench. So Abraham Lincoln, one of our most revered and loved presidents, acted without congressional approval to raise an army suspended civil government by declaring Martial Law suppress freedom of speech arrested and jailed citizens without a warrant and took away their property. It is not uncommon throughout American History that civil liberties are curtailed in times of national crisis like wars. Lincoln's presidency is an example of that So the question is was Lincoln ruling like a tyrant or was he taking extraordinary steps in order to save the nation you be the judge You