e Constitution was known as "Honest Abe." When Lincoln felt it was necessary he could act in the most undemocratic manner (as he delivered the Gettysburg Address, his troops guarded the polls at a state election in Delaware, insuring a Republican victory). Realizing that the Constitution was not made for war, especially civil war, and knowing that it took too long to change it, he was willing to bypass it and create his own emergency powers in order to preserve it for peacetime. Events were moving too rapidly to stay within the due process of the law. Both presidents hovered closely to the War Department. Davis began to become very unpopular with the populace of the South for his persistent support of discredited officers such as Lucius B. Northrop, the Confederate commissary General, and Generals Theophilus Holmes, John Pemberton, and Braxton Bragg. Northrop and Bragg were grossly incompetent and their long retention in high position, against an ever- increasing tide of public criticism, cannot be justified on any reasonable ground. There was a great deal of criticism of Davis for his removal of General Beauregard. Also a major destructive relationship took place between Davis and Joe Johnston. Lincoln on the other hand either fired or sat back and let the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War fire popular or unpopular generals for perceived ineptitude. McClellan and Buell (too slow for the northern voters) -- Porter (we'll hang this one on the Joint Committee, thus keeping Lincoln clean) -- Pope (no one likes a braggart, especially one who nearly gets his army annihilated...easy call) -- Butler in New Orleans (good move, it places the Beast in the den of depravity...he can't lose battles and he can place his scorn and the contempt of the folks up north on the folks down south) -- Sigel brought in to command the 11th Corps when recruitment's were down-- (dismissed temporarily when campaigning began, brought ...
