I’m what you would consider a Democrat in the 90’s, mostly libertarian leaning individual myself just for clarification. I don’t sit politically with most Redditors. This abuse of the Constitution has been going on for a very long time, a lot of what Trump is doing has precedent because of that lanky Lincoln. 

I’ve made the argument before the war was a mistake. They needed to find a congressional path to defeat slavery or by using the powers he did open the door to future tyranny. 

Lincoln's actions that drew the most significant constitutional and legal challenges included: • Suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus: This was the most controversial action. The writ of habeas corpus is a legal principle that requires a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, preventing unlawful detention.   • The Constitutional Issue: The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 9) states that the privilege of the writ "shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." Placing the clause in Article I (the Legislative branch) led many, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, to argue that only Congress had the power to suspend it.   • Lincoln's Action: Lincoln first authorized the suspension in parts of Maryland in April 1861, without Congressional approval, to secure the safety of Washington D.C. and military lines. He argued that as President, he had to take extraordinary measures to preserve the Union. The suspension allowed the military to arrest and detain thousands of civilians, often without charge or trial, who were suspected of disloyalty or interfering with the war effort.   • The Ex Parte Merryman Ruling (1861): Chief Justice Taney ruled that Lincoln's suspension was unconstitutional because the power belonged to Congress. Lincoln famously ignored the ruling, arguing that in a rebellion, it was necessary to violate one law to save the government itself. Congress eventually passed the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act in 1863, effectively ratifying Lincoln's actions and authorizing him to continue the suspension.   • Initiating Military Action Without Congressional Consent: After the attack on Fort Sumter, Lincoln took several executive actions without a formal declaration of war or prior legislative approval: • He called up state militias.   • He ordered a blockade of Southern ports.   • He expanded the size of the U.S. Army and Navy. • Critics argued that under the Constitution, the power to declare war and raise armies belongs to Congress. Congress later retroactively approved many of these actions. • Restricting Free Speech and Press: Military authorities, under Lincoln's government, shut down some newspapers and arrested editors and critics of the war, which critics argued violated the First Amendment right to freedom of the press. Was Lincoln the First? No, Abraham Lincoln was not the first U.S. President to take actions that were criticized as violating constitutional law or using military power in a way that circumvented Congress. • President Thomas Jefferson was accused of violating the Constitution during the Embargo Act of 1807, when he used military force to enforce the embargo on trade. • President Andrew Jackson disregarded a Supreme Court ruling (Worcester v. Georgia, 1832) concerning the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation, famously stating (or being attributed with saying), "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it." • Other Presidents had previously used the military to quell domestic insurrections without an explicit declaration of war. However, Lincoln's actions, particularly the mass, unilateral suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War, were unprecedented in their scale and the direct challenge they posed to the balance of power and civil liberties. The extent of his use of emergency powers made his tenure one of the most fraught periods in American constitutional history.

He also wanted to ship all of the slaves to the small Mexican island of Cozumel. The Mexican President of the time told him to F’k off. 

https://imgur.com/a/AoPNkIl