¶ … Controversial President Lincoln Abraham Lincoln lived during very controversial times. Moreover, he was elected president in an age in which the very foundation of American social and political life was fraught with controversy. Therefore, it is not surprising that Lincoln's presidency was filled with the sort of controversy that typified the age in which he lived. In fact, many of the more controversial aspects of Lincoln's presidency had widely escape the notice of those who uphold his legacy. Lincoln famously suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus during the period directly proceeding and involving the Civil War. This basic tenement of law enforcement and criminal proceedings is foundational to the U.S. criminal justice system, yet Lincoln did not so much as hesitate in suspending it. Additionally, he made a practice of fairly routinely throwing his opponents in jail. What is so striking about this practice is that these were political opponents Lincoln imprisoned, which added to the controversy of this practice. Moreover, perhaps the most controversial facet of his presidency involved the partisan nature of the Republican Party in general. Specifically, Lincoln initially resisted the abolitionist movement within his party, as he did the more radical elements that were looking to effect abolition and, later, rights for freedmen in a much more dramatic manner than Lincoln was looking to do. Viewed from this perspective, it is quite clear that Lincoln's presidency was most memorable for all of the controversial measures it involved, and the basic relationships between those measures and the pressing issue of slavery (and its abolition) in the time in which he lived.

Perhaps the single most controversial aspect of Abraham Lincoln's presidency was his suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus. This action was emblematic of the controversial nature of Lincoln's presidency in a couple of distinct way. Firstly, it was intrinsically related to the issue of slavery and the fledgling abolitionist movement that was eventually triumphant during the Civil War waged in its wake. Secondly, this action demonstrated Lincoln's tendency to utilize his presidential power in overt ways. He remained within the constitutional boundaries by suspending the writ of Habeas Corpus. But he certainly came very close to the limits of those boundaries, as he did in many instances during his presidency. When discussing those boundaries and the controversial nature of Lincoln's presidency, it is critical to understand just exactly what the writ of Habeas Corpus is. It expressly states that prisoners have a right to be brought to court by those that have imprisoned them in order to understand...

This legal mechanism is one of the basic ways of ensuring that people are not falsely accused or simply imprisoned for unjust reasons (like political prisoners). Its importance to a proper and just criminal justice system is fairly obvious. However, "Under the constitution the federal government can unquestionably suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus if the public safety requires it during times of rebellion or invasion" (Dueholm).
This fact is of critical importance when evaluating the controversial nature of Lincoln's decision to suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus, which he first attempted to do in the spring of 1861. Lincoln's rationale -- which directly pertained to the constitutionality of his decision -- was that this time period was one characterized by rebellion. The Civil War began during this year. In mid-April of this year there were regular disturbances in Maryland surrounding confederate supporters and their disruptions of civil life because they were opposed to the abolition of slavery. Therefore, Lincoln felt he was justified in suspending this writ in an effort to quell the sort of rebellions that were disadvantageous to national safety. What makes this aspect of his political term so important is its correlation to slavery, and to its abolition. On the one hand, Lincoln was temporarily terminating a very established part of the criminal justice system, and one which helped to create parity for all in that system. On the other, he was doing so because of situations that would perhaps prove even more rebellious in nature. Those situations, of course, was the succession from the Union on the part of many different southern states. Viewed from this perspective, Lincoln's controversial decision to suspend the Habeas Corpus directly influenced more controversy -- the initiation of the Civil War itself.

Another extremely controversial part of Lincoln's term as president was his relationship with the Republican Party in general. He was one of the first presidents of this party to take office. However, there was far from a unified front among the Republicans with Lincoln in office. As became readily apparent after Lincoln died and during the period of reconstruction, many Republican's actually advocated a more radical form of reconstruction that would grant full rights to freedmen immediately. During his lifespan -- and particularly during his presidency -- Lincoln was at odds with these members of the Republican party who actually were attempting to push him into eliminating slavery right away (Maas). These Republicans were…