76 e lusive v ictories
detained without trial lived in Border States and might have had some
connection to Confederate irregular military operations. But the proc-
lamation was also used, more controversially, against opponents of the
war in the North, especially when the unpopularity of conscription in
1863 spurred advocacy of regional secession and a separate peace with
the South.
Opponents of the war such as Vallandigham urged soldiers to return
home to force the administration to come to terms with the Confed-
eracy. When he was placed under arrest by a military commander
without administration approval, Lincoln felt he had to support the
move. (Vallandigham was later deported to the Confederacy, then made
his way to Canada and ran in 1864 for governor of Ohio, only to be
soundly whipped at the polls.) Determined to defend the
encroachment on free speech, Lincoln again displayed his rhetorical
gifts, explaining that it violated common sense to shoot the “simple-
minded soldier” who deserted while leaving untouched the “wily agi-
tator” who had induced him. By some accounts, this image of brave
but innocent youth led astray by cowardly and disloyal foes of the war
helped turn the 1863 election decisively in favor of the Republicans.
Th e president also secured congressional ratifi cation for his actions,
which enhanced their popular legitimacy and shifted some responsi-
bility from his shoulders.
Behind Lincoln’s assertion of extraordinary powers lay a bold new
theory of the legitimate scope of presidential power in a national emer-
gency. He contended that as commander in chief in wartime—at least
in a war in which the survival of the nation hung in the balance—he
could do things that lay outside the powers of the offi ce during peace.
Emancipation illustrates how he used his authority over military
matters to stretch presidential power. At his First Inauguration, he
avowed that as president he had no power to interfere with slavery
where it existed. But as it became clear that slavery was facilitating the
South’s capacity to wage war, Lincoln became more receptive to argu-
ments that as the nation’s military commander he could assert any
power needed to secure victory. Certainly property used by the enemy
to support his war eff ort was fair game. On military grounds, then, he
might declare free all slaves who assisted the rebellion. Although this
left unresolved questions about slaves living within the Union and