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educationFeb 5, 202548:34pending

Lincoln and the Presidential Pardon Power

About this episode

The presidential pardon is the most sweeping and unchallengeable of a president's powers, and it seems that each time someone leaves the White House, pardons generate at least some level of controversy. Why did the Founders include this power? How was its use originally envisioned, and how has it evolved over time? Historian Jonathan White joins Cara Rogers Stevens to discuss the issue, using Abraham Lincoln as a vehicle to better understand this significant, yet poorly-understood presidential power.

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

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Lincoln and the Presidential Pardon Power

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