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Hillsdale Constitution 101 Week 8: “Abraham Lincoln and the Constitution”
Hillsdale College ^ | April 9 2012 | Kevin Portteus

Posted on 04/09/2012 7:38:08 AM PDT by iowamark

Abraham Lincoln’s fidelity to the Declaration of Independence is equally a fidelity to the Constitution. The Constitution takes its moral life from the principles of liberty and equality, and was created to serve those principles. We are divided as a nation today, as in Lincoln’s time, because we have severed the connection between these two documents.

Lincoln’s “Fragment on the Constitution and the Union” contains the central theme of Lincoln’s life and work. Drawing upon biblical language, Lincoln describes the Declaration of Independence as an “apple of gold,” and the Constitution as the “frame of silver” around it. We cannot consider the Constitution independently of the purpose which it was designed to serve.

The Constitution acts to guard the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. As the embodiment of the Declaration’s principles, the Constitution created a frame of government with a clear objective. The Constitution is not a collection of compromises, or an empty vessel whose meaning can be redefined to meet the needs of the time; it is the embodiment of an eternal, immutable truth.

Abraham Lincoln defended the Union and sought to defeat the Confederate insurrection because he held that the principles of the Declaration and Constitution were inviolable. In his speeches and in his statecraft, Lincoln wished to demonstrate that self-government is not doomed to either be so strong that it overwhelms the rights of the people or so weak that it is incapable of surviving.

About the Lecturer:

Kevin Portteus is assistant professor of politics at Hillsdale College, where he has taught since 2008. Dr. Portteus is faculty advisor for the Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program, and teaches courses in American political thought and American political institutions.

A visiting graduate faculty member in the American History and Government program at Ashland University, Dr. Portteus formerly taught at Belmont Abbey College and Mountain View College, in Dallas. Having published online through the Washington Times, Human Events, and BigGovernment.com, his book, Executive Details: Public Administration and American Constitutionalism, is under review for publication. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Ashland University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in politics from the University of Dallas.


TOPICS: Education; History; Military/Veterans; Reference
KEYWORDS: abrahamlincoln; civilwar; constitution; hillsdale; lincoln; milhist
Lecture (39 minute video)

Study Guide

Readings

  1. “First Inaugural Address” – Abraham Lincoln
  2. “Message to Congress in Special Session” – Abraham Lincoln
  3. “The Emancipation Proclamation” – Abraham Lincoln
  4. “The Gettysburg Address” – Abraham Lincoln
  5. “Second Inaugural Address” – Abraham Lincoln

    Q&A Reminder: You may submit questions from Monday at noon when the new week's material is available, until Wednesday at noon. “Question & Answer” videos will be posted on Thursdays. Like the lectures, these sessions are not live, and are available to view at your convenience.

    You may submit questions to constitution@hillsdale.edu, or via Facebook or Twitter. Please include your name, city, and state with your email so we can identify your question. We will do our best to answer as many questions as possible during the time allotted, but we will not be able to answer all questions.


1 posted on 04/09/2012 7:38:24 AM PDT by iowamark
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Abraham Lincoln’s fidelity to the Declaration of Independence is equally a fidelity to the Constitution. The Constitution takes its moral life from the principles of liberty and equality, and was created to serve those principles. We are divided as a nation today, as in Lincoln’s time, because we have severed the connection between these two documents.

Lecture Summary

Lincoln’s “Fragment on the Constitution and the Union” contains the central theme of Lincoln’s life and work. Drawing upon biblical language, Lincoln describes the Declaration of Independence as an “apple of gold,” and the Constitution as the “frame of silver” around it. We cannot consider the Constitution independently of the purpose which it was designed to serve.

The Constitution acts to guard the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. As the embodiment of the Declaration’s principles, the Constitution created a frame of government with a clear objective. The Constitution is not a collection of compromises, or an empty vessel whose meaning can be redefined to meet the needs of the time; it is the embodiment of an eternal, immutable truth.

Abraham Lincoln defended the Union and sought to defeat the Confederate insurrection because he held that the principles of the Declaration and Constitution were inviolable. In his speeches and in his statecraft, Lincoln wished to demonstrate that self-government is not doomed to either be so strong that it overwhelms the rights of the people or so weak that it is incapable of surviving.

Key Passages from the Readings

Fragment on the Constitution and the Union • Abraham Lincoln
“The assertion of that principle, at that time, was the word, ‘fitly spoken’ which has proved an ‘apple of gold’ to us. The Union, and the Constitution, are the picture of silver, subsequently framed around it. The picture was made, not to conceal, or destroy the apple; but to adorn, and preserve it. The picture was made for the apple—not the apple for the picture.”
(The U.S. Constitution: A Reader, page 67)

First Inaugural Address • Abraham Lincoln
“I hold, that in contemplation of universal law, and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual.” (The U.S. Constitution: A Reader, page 587)

Message to Congress in Special Session • Abraham Lincoln
“It presents the question, whether discontented individuals, too few in numbers to control administration, according to organic law, in any case, can always, upon the pretenses made in this case, or on any other pretenses, or arbitrarily, without any pretense, break up their Government, and thus practically put an end to free government upon the earth.”
(The U.S. Constitution: A Reader, page 596)

The Gettysburg Address • Abraham Lincoln
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure.” (The U.S. Constitution: A Reader, page 607)

“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
(The U.S. Constitution: A Reader, pages 611-612)

Second Inaugural Address • Abraham Lincoln
“Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, ‘the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.’”
(The U.S. Constitution: A Reader, page 555)

“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.” (The U.S. Constitution: A Reader, page 614)

Study Questions
1. What does Abraham Lincoln call the “apple of gold”? And what is the “frame of silver”? How are the two elements related to each other?
2. According to Abraham Lincoln, what is the central principle of the American regime?
3. How does Lincoln employ the “house divided” metaphor to explain the crisis of his time?
4. How does Abraham Lincoln argue against secession? Why, according to him, is it illegitimate?

Discussion Questions
1. How did Abraham Lincoln understand the American Founding?
2. How does the idea of secession relate to the consent of the governed and republicanism?
3. Is Lincoln’s argument against secession valid?
4. What parallels are there between the crisis of the Civil War and today’s constitutional crisis?


2 posted on 04/09/2012 7:40:36 AM PDT by iowamark
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To: iowamark; savagesusie; Jacquerie; madison10; Steve Newton; IronJack; DollyCali; Makana; Sergio; ...

Hillsdale Ping!


3 posted on 04/09/2012 7:46:10 AM PDT by iowamark
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To: iowamark

This looks marvelous. While I don’t have the time to participate these next few days, I’d appreciate your keeping me in touch regarding updates and questions/answers.


4 posted on 04/09/2012 8:02:40 AM PDT by bcsco
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To: iowamark

Countdown for the Lincoln-hating hijackers.


5 posted on 04/09/2012 8:20:18 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: Sherman Logan

Semper Watching!
*****


6 posted on 04/09/2012 8:22:44 AM PDT by gunnyg ("A Constitution changed from Freedom, can never be restored; Liberty, once lost, is lost forever...)
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To: iowamark

Lincoln was a Tyrant and a Atheist who used just enough phrases from the Bible to sound Christian. The South did not start a Insurrection against the Federal government but instead tried to leave the US and they started their own government!

Lincoln was the Poster Child for Adolf Hitler. The Nazi’s studied Lincoln’s war against the South to learn how to overthrow a government yet seemingly keeping the people from knowing they were destroying their own government.

Show me one instance were a Southerner tried to take over the US government! You can’t because it never happened!

The deaths of nearly 750,000 people and the dislocation of nearly 500,000 more rest solely on Lincoln’s head! He may not of killed as many people as Hitler but his war plans were the blueprint that Hitler used in Germany and against other countries.


7 posted on 04/09/2012 8:39:55 AM PDT by Southron Patriot (Deo Vindice)
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To: Southron Patriot; wardaddy; bcsco; All

This day in History, April 9, 1865

http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/2012/04/this-day-in-history-april-9-1865.html[snip]General

[snip]Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant April 9, 1865, but that was not the end of the Civil War. Other factions were not ready to give up the fight.

The Southern Cherokee, who fought for their own independence along side the Confederacy, in fact, never ‘surrendered’. On June 23, 1865, Brigadier General Stand Watie and the remnants of the Cherokee Mounted Braves formally ceased hostilities at Doaksville at Fort Towson near The Red River in the Choctaw Nation. Nearly sixty years old, he was the last general to lay down arms in the Civil War, two months after Lee surrendered to Grant.


8 posted on 04/09/2012 10:06:47 AM PDT by AuntB (Illegal immigration is simply more "share the wealth" socialism and a CRIME not a race!)
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To: AuntB

Good point, Aunt B. Many, even some Civil War aficionados may not be aware of that fact.


9 posted on 04/09/2012 10:37:45 AM PDT by bcsco
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To: Sherman Logan

I’d bet it took less than counting the fingers on one hand this time...


10 posted on 04/09/2012 10:38:56 AM PDT by bcsco
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To: AuntB

Good post!

Appreciated!

Semper Fidelis
Gunny G
aka; Dick Gaines
*****


11 posted on 04/09/2012 1:11:48 PM PDT by gunnyg ("A Constitution changed from Freedom, can never be restored; Liberty, once lost, is lost forever...)
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To: iowamark
I knew little of Lincoln's philosophical understanding of our Declaration and its connection to the Constitution. Now I know a bit more. This lecture is worth stopping now and then to absorb what Dr. Portteus said or to take notes.

In 1860 the nation elected a man willing to risk all to preserve our founding principles. The same principles are at risk in 2012. Our nation needs another Lincoln or Washington.

It appears our choice will be between one who hates those principles and another who doesn't care all that much about them.

12 posted on 04/09/2012 2:02:08 PM PDT by Jacquerie (No court will save us from ourselves.)
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To: Southron Patriot; rockrr
Southron Patriot: "The South did not start a Insurrection against the Federal government but instead tried to leave the US and they started their own government!"

In historical fact, secessionists began simultaneously committing many unlawful acts of rebellion and war against the United States, some even before formally declaring their secession.

These acts of insurrection included seizures by force of many Federal properties -- i.e., forts, armories, customs houses, ships and a mint -- threats of violence against Federal personnel, and the firing-on and seizure of the Federal Fort Sumter.

And in the end, not a single Confederate soldier was killed by any Union force until after the Confederacy formally declared war on the United States, on May 6, 1861.

So the charges against "Lincoln the Tyrant" are false.

13 posted on 04/11/2012 5:50:03 AM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective....)
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To: Southron Patriot

Wrong on the law. Texas v. White held that the pretended confederacy never existed. That case is still good law, and binding precedent on courts.

Sam Houston, the governor of Texas was removed from his post as governor of one of the United States by the insurrection.


14 posted on 04/12/2012 10:07:16 PM PDT by donmeaker (Blunderbuss: A short weapon, ... now superceded in civilized countries by more advanced weaponry.)
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To: iowamark; savagesusie; Jacquerie; madison10; Steve Newton; IronJack; DollyCali; Makana; Sergio; ...
Hillsdale ping!

Hillsdale College's "Constitution 101" Week 8 "Abraham Lincoln and the Constitution"

Abraham Lincoln: The Father of Big Government?

Dr. Kevin Portteus: Constitution 101 - Week Eight Q&A

Get started on readings for Week Nine, “The Progressive Rejection of the Founding.”

Readings for Week 9:

  1. “The American Conception of Liberty” – Frank Goodnow
  2. “What is Progress?” – Woodrow Wilson
  3. “Liberalism and Social Action” – John Dewey
  4. “Socialism and Democracy” – Woodrow Wilson

15 posted on 04/13/2012 1:06:28 AM PDT by iowamark
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To: iowamark
Regarding the Q&A, I was disappointed Dr. Portteus did not go beyond the EPA when asked directly about his comments regarding our enslavement.

So-called progressives do not believe in truths, or at least they change (nuts) and do not share our definition, rough as it is, of liberty.

Interesting point by Portteus. Our founding generation by and large believed chattel slavery to be wrong, but had to accept it in order to form a more perfect Union. By 1860, too many southerners believed slavery to be a positive good.

The reason our Framers did not explicitly reference the Declaration was because the truths of the Declaration, only 12 years old, were universally accepted. Why repeat it?

What is justifiable revolution v. secession?

16 posted on 04/14/2012 11:08:32 AM PDT by Jacquerie (No court will save us from ourselves.)
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To: iowamark

Bookmarked!


17 posted on 04/17/2012 12:49:49 PM PDT by fortheDeclaration (How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!-Sam Adams)
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