Introduction

Abstract

Introduction Melvin I. Urofsky In the last issue, we noted that a long­ time friend of the Society, Justice John Paul Stevens, had retired from the Court after more than three decades of service. As is our cus­ tom, we are pleased to offer two tributes to Justice Stevens. One is from his former col­ league, a man we honored similarly only a year ago, former Justice David Souter, who, throughouthis own tenure onthe Court, served alongside Stevens. The other is from one of Justice Stevens’ former clerks, Cliff Sloan. Both tributes reinforce the widespread view of John Paul Stevens as not only a finejudge but also, even more importantly, a very fine human being. This issue is devoted primarily to the lec­ tures delivered in 2009, the year that the en­ tire nation celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. As with many of our series, the number of lectures— and the resulting articles—could have been far longer. A quick search of the Library of Congress online catalogue came up with more than 1,000 entries for the nation’s sixteenth President, and, because ofhis leadership ofthe Union during the Civil War, he figures promi­ nently in any study of the Constitution and its development. The four articles by Robert K. Faulkner, Lucas E. Morel, James F. Simon, and Paul Finkelman look at different aspects of Lin­ coln’s constitutional views. These views have been denounced by some—primarily those who endorsed the secessionist view—as a be­ trayal ofthe document, and they damned Lin­ coln for his alleged flouting of constitutional limits on presidential authority. Most scholars believe that given the circumstances ofthe re­ bellion, Lincoln miraculously kept the Consti­ tution alive, and showed that the Framers— even if they had not specifically foreseen such an event as a civil war—had nonetheless clothed the government with authority to deal with the crisis. This notion of the “adequacy ofthe Constitution” has been a key element in our thinking ever since, especially when con­ fronted by domestic crises or foreign wars. Speaking of long lists, the annual output ofbooks dealing with the Court, its members, and the issues it must face is also far more v vi JOURNAL OF SUPREME COURT HISTORY than we could possibly review in this journal, even if we devoted every page of every issue to the task. So we are, as always, grateful to Grier Stephenson for winnowing through that pile and calling our attention to those books he deems particularly worthwhile. So, as with every issue, we hope that you will be enlightened and that you will enjoy. ...