The waging of war is the greatest challenge any person in national authority can face. It is an all-consuming task. It is an undertaking that can destroy both leader and nation. Of all governments, Constitutional Republics face the greatest challenge. Conscripting armies, rationing materials, the issuing and obeying of unquestionable orders; all of these go against the very nature of a Constitutional republic. In a time where national sovereignty is at stake, it is tempting to overlook the importance of core principles such as the consent of the governed and rule of law. How many republics across the globe have transitioned into military dictatorships that started as temporary states of emergency? As Abraham Lincoln so famously reflected in Gettysburg in 1863, “…we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived (in liberty) and so dedicated can long endure…”