sentences:  Like Corning, Pruyn was a pro-Union Democrat who supported the war effort because he believed that states did not have the right to secede.Like many pro-Union Democrats, Pruyn also argued that in prosecuting the war, Abraham Lincoln's administration sometimes overstepped its authority with regard to individual liberties and civil rights.Pruyn was elected to the 40th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1867, to March 3, 1869.