If he can wield these powers alone, surely he can wield them in association with Congress; nor will their efficacy be impaired, when it is known that they proceed from this associate will, rather than from his single will alone.

Therefore war is declared, armies are raised, rules concerning captures are made, and all articles of war regulating the conduct of war are established by Act of Congress.

It is by Act of Congress that the War Powers are all put in motion.

But he is only the instrument of Congress, under the Constitution.

It is true, the President is commander-in-chief; but it is for Congress to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution his powers, so that, according to the very words of the Constitution, his powers depend upon…

Thus, whether you regard Congress or regard the President, you will find that Congress is the arbiter and regulator of the War Powers.

But a pretension so irrational and unconstitutional, so absurd and tyrannical, is not entitled to respect.

Born in ignorance, and pernicious in consequences, it ought to be received most sternly, and, just in proportion as it obtains acceptance, with execration.

It would degrade our proud Constitutional Republic, where each department has its appointed place, to one of those short-lived, vulgar despotisms appearing occasionally as a warning to mankind.

All rebels are criminals, liable to punishment according to penal statutes; and in all proceedings against them, as such, they are surrounded by the safeguards of the Constitution.

Rebels in arms are public enemies, who can claim no safeguard from the Constitution; and they may be pursued and conquered according to the Rights of War.

You cannot deny the power of Congress to liberate the slaves, without removing this landmark.

Thus do I vindicate for Congress all the Rights of War.

Whatever the mitigations of the Rights of War introduced by modern civilization, under which private property in certain cases is exempt from confiscation, this rule does not apply to cases where there is a direct personal responsibility…

And here is the precise difference between the responsibility of the sovereign or prince and the responsibility of the private citizen: the private citizen is excused; but the sovereign or prince is always held responsible to the full…

Now every rebel who has voluntarily become a public enemy has assumed a personal responsibility, for which, according to acknowledged principles of public law, especially if he has taken high office in the rebel government, he is liable to…

Every citizen who voluntarily aids in armed rebellion is a hostile sovereign or prince.

If thou dost shed One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are by the laws of Venice confiscate Unto the State of Venice.

In claiming these powers to the full extent, I yield to no Senator in that spirit of clemency which, next to justice, is the grace and ornament of success.

President, these are the principles on which we must act.

Measures, which for long years seemed attainable only to the most sanguine hope, have triumphed.

There have been victories of war, won on hard-fought fields, but none comparable to the victories of peace.

Thus, in the prosecution of the war, Congress has exercised two great powers,--first, to raise armies, and, secondly, to tax.

Sons, brothers, and husbands are taken from happy homes and from the concerns of business, leaving vacant places, never, perhaps, to be filled again, and hurried away to wage a fearful war.

Let us at all hazards prevent the extension of Slavery and the increase of the Slave Power.