Three of Lincoln's controversial actions during his presidenct were:
-Stopping the New York Draft Riots: the Draft Riots were a series of riots that took place in New York from July 13 to 17, 1863, in the context of the American Civil War.
The military enlistment was instituted by then President Abraham Lincoln to reinforce the Union Army, calling all men between 25 and 35 years old, and single men between 35 and 45. Seven months after the Emancipation Proclamation in the southern states came into effect, an explosion of violence and robberies swept the city of New York in response to a second national enlistment. Although the city had initially supported the movement to the war fervently, each of the defeats in battle made New Yorkers withdraw their support for the campaign in the south more and more. After calling 70,000 volunteers and winning a couple of battles, Lincoln announced the enlistment lottery.
After the troops controlled the violence, more than 2,000 people had been killed, almost all protesters who died in the bombings, 20 people of color through lynchings, two hundred stores ransacked and a hundred buildings burned, including an orphanage, a circus , an arsenal, three police stations and a Protestant church.
-Suspending habeas corpus: during the Civil War, Lincoln received powers from Congress that no previous president had exercised; managed funds without congressional control and suspended habeas corpus. He relied on the United States Constitution, which in its Article I, Section 9 states: "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it".
-Arresting Southern sympathizers: after suspending habeas corpus, the government arrested people who were suspected of being Southern sympathizers.