Final answer:
Abraham Lincoln battled opposition from Northern Democrats called Copperheads, who criticized his wartime use of presidential powers, especially the suspension of habeic corpus and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Step-by-step explanation:
President Abraham Lincoln faced significant opposition from Northern Democrats, particularly the Peace Democrats, also derogatorily known as Copperheads. These factions vehemently criticized Lincoln's use of executive authority during the Civil War, particularly the suspension of habeas corpus and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Despite their efforts to paint him as a power-grabbing dictator, Lincoln maintained civil liberties such as freedom of speech and the press, while navigating the shifting public sentiment and political landscape throughout his presidency.