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MicrosoftLesson 17
How Did the Civil War Test and Transform the American Constitutional System?
Between December 1860 and June 1861 eleven Southern states seceded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. The Civil War started in April 1861. The war raised several constitutional issues: the right of states to secede from the union, the president's powers in wartime, the balance between individual rights and national security, and the constitutional status of slavery in the United States. Three constitutional amendments adopted after the war defined American citizenship and transformed the relationship between the national and state governments.Section 1
What constitutional issues were raised by the Civil War and how were they resolved?- Discussion and research questions
Section 2
What evidence is there that the Framers thought slavery might end in the years after the Philadelphia Convention?- Discussion and research questions
Section 3
What were the central arguments for and against succession and how were they justified?- Discussion and research questions
Section 4
Which of Lincoln's actions during the Civil War appear constitutionally justifiable or not constitutionally justifiable?- Discussion and research questions
Section 5
What constitutional issues were resolved by the Civil War? How effective were the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments in protecting the rights of African Americans?- Discussion and research questions