...earth. It forces us to ask: Is there, in all republics, this inherent and fatal weakness? Must the government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties...the war power of the government; and so to resist force, employed for its destruction, by force, for its preservation. . . . Soon after the first call...

...it, but she would have gotten a kick out of the whole business. As I re-read these pages, I miss her. Is there, in all republics, this inherent, and fatal...people, or too weak to maintain its own existence? —Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress, July 4, l86l Introduction 'A Chord Which Vibrates in Every...

...their Government, and thus practically put an end to free government upon the earth. It forces us to ask: "Is there, in all republics, this inherent and...necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?" So viewing the issue, no choice was left but to...

...rights than the anarchy it prevents? In Lincoln's words, "Is there, in all republics, this inherent, fatal weakness? Must a government, of necessity, be...of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?"3 At the Gettysburg battlefield, in the middle of the Civil War Lincoln prosecuted in order...

...had little choice but to bend the law in response to the crisis. He defended his actions by asking, "Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for...people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?" He had no time to call Congress into session when the fighting broke out, he said. In fact, he had...

...Congress he called on July 4, 1 861, at the beginning of the bloodiest conflict in American history: "Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for...of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?"18 The victory of the federal government in the Civil War helped the United States to avoid...

...maintain its territorial integrity, against its own domestic foes." "Must a government," he continued, "be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?" (2:250). The problem here is that there might be a deep tension between the republican and constitutional...

...its fall "without even awaiting the arrival of the provisioning expedition." It forced the questions: "Is there, in all republics, this inherent, and fatal...people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?" No choice was left but "to call out the war power of the Government." Applause swept the House at the...

...confession of social and cultural, even psychological, defeat. Lincoln asked in his first inaugural address: "Is there in all republics this inherent and fatal...people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?" For him, and for most northerners, there could be only one answer: no. Any other would be a confession...

...world? Overall, the question that confronts us was perhaps best stated 150 years ago by Abraham Lincoln: "Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for...people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?" PART I Discarding Democracy CHAPTER 1 Past as Prologue? ALAN BRINKLEY The history of civil liberties...