l incoln’s s hadow 77
whether slavery could be reestablished after the war, the president
appreciated that he had likely dealt a death blow to the South’s peculiar
institution. He also maintained that his emergency authority extended
beyond that of Congress: where a commander in chief could emanci-
pate slaves as a war measure, he defended the pocket-veto of the Wade-
Davis Bill on constitutional grounds, insisting that Congress
overstepped its bounds by including language that made emancipation
a part of Reconstruction.
In sum, Lincoln adopted an expansive reading of wartime presi-
dential power that served his immediate purposes, while recognizing
the political dangers inherent in such an interpretation. By his reading
of the Constitution, the president had a broad warrant to act during a
war in ways that would otherwise be illegitimate. Th e indispensable
character of unconstitutional measures made them lawful. He thus
was able to reconcile his actions with his underlying Whig beliefs in a
limited executive and legislative supremacy. By implication, for Lincoln
the expansion of presidential power represented but a temporary shift
in balance among institutions, something to be remedied as soon as
peace returned.
At the same time, though, he had the political wisdom to appreciate
that wielding excessive power could undermine the war effort.
Suspending habeas corpus was an unpopular measure, and not just
among Democrats opposed to the war. Arrests of dissidents sat poorly
with a public that valued its freedoms, even if, as I have observed, it was
unsure about where loyal opposition left off and treason began. To
avoid off ending the sensibilities of too many northerners, especially
those who backed the war, Lincoln sought to limit the exercise of mil-
itary authority against antiwar elements. He was condemned by some
of them as a despot. But by exercising emergency powers circumspectly,
he helped to deprive such an accusation of the traction it might other-
wise have had with the broader public.
Not that Lincoln sought to minimize or conceal his incursions on
treasured civil liberties. To the contrary, he off ered direct and com-
pelling defenses for his action. Recall fi rst the “wily agitator” who hid
behind the shield of free expression while letting gullible soldiers pay
the price for desertion. (As an aside, Lincoln had a soft spot for soldiers
charged with desertion and often commuted their sentence, especially