...be that one institution is the more legitimate holder of the people's will and power: "often a limb must be amputated to save a life; but a life is never wisely given to save a limb."43 It was his belief that the oath he took to protect the Constitution, as he put it, "imposed...

...have seemed to legitimize a dictatorship analogous to that of Bismarck from 1862-1866." Ibid., 57. "that measures otherwise unconstitutional might become...of the Constitution through the preservation of the nation."36 The wars that Lincoln and Bismarck waged in behalf of national unity shared more than a...

...all three of these foundations of constitutional democracy. When Abraham Lincoln said: "Often a limb must be amputated to save a life, but a life is never wisely given to save a limb,"* he was grounding a number of unconstitutional and dictatorial actions on the law of necessity. The...

...should be suspended or at least temporarily modified. He pointed out on another occasion that these "measures otherwise unconstitutional might become...of the constitution through the preservation of the Union."5 Clearly Lincoln saw the war powers in the presidency as expanding the role of the executive...

...actions during the Civil War. Lincoln defended his exercise of power by explaining that, "Often a limb must be amputated to save a life; but a life is never...Constitution, through the preservation of the nation." 5 With modest reflection it is clear that the core of Lincoln and Locke's argument is that the uncertain...

...individual liberties, used a comparison that all Americans of this era could understand. "A limb," he said, "must be amputated to save a life, but a life is never wisely given to save a limb." Widely circulated, such messages cast Lincoln as the head of a government educating the people in the...

...law," Lincoln wrote to a newspaper editor in 1864, "life and limb must be protected; yet often a limb must be amputated to save a life; but a life is never wisely given to save a limb." Lincoln's decision followed the reality of the times. Many states— especially Kansas and other western...

...sometimes be necessary in order to save the whole. He once explained this view by saying, "Often a limb must be amputated to save a life; but a life is never wisely given to save a limb." Temporarily, Lincoln and a majority in Congress were agreed on a single war aim, preservation of the...

...and yet preserve the Constitution? By general law life and limb must be protected; yet often a limb must be amputated to save a life; but a life is never...Right or wrong I assumed this ground, and now avow it. >>l — Abraham Lincoln, April 4, 1864 It was the hottest ticket in town. Everyone who could crammed...

...actions at the outset ot the Civil War: By general law life and limb must be protected; yet often a limb must be amputated to save a life; but a life is never...constitution, through the preservation of the nation. 1-v' Here, one might say, these statesmen all hearken back to the first principle of republican government,...