Professor Farber systematically analyzes constitutional issues of Lincoln's presidency and the Civil War. His primary focus is on whether secession was constitutional, whether Lincoln's decision to go to war without Congressional approval was constitutional and whether the suspension of habeas corpus was constitutional. Two of those questions have import for Americans today.

The author is a law professor, but the work is not intended only for the legal community. Farber's knowledge of Lincoln and his times shines as he frames the constitutional questions and analysis with the history of the time. Further, he considers the development of constitutional theory as he compares Lincoln's actions to those of subsequent presidents in times of crisis.

Anyone interested in Lincoln, the Civil War or history of the constitution will appreciate this book. ( )

I read Geoffrey Stone’s Perilous Times a couple of years ago. Daniel Farber’s Lincoln’s Consitution has a similar focus, but covers only the Civil War rather than the entirety of the history of civil liberties during troubled times. In addition to examining whether the Lincoln administration’s curtailment of civil liberties during the Civil War was constitutional, Farber also looks at the question of secession and use of military force against the south. Farber’s conclusion is that most of Lincoln’s actions were constitutional.

(Full review at my blog) ( )