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Constitutional Developments During The Period Between 1860 And 1877 Essay

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During the period between 1860 and 1877, many major changes occurred in America. There were many constitutional developments in this time period, which include the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil War, and newly added Amendments. There were also many social developments included the Ku Klux Klan and voting of black people. Some of these developments were a revolution, which is a forcible overthrow of the government or social order in favor of a new system, and some were not.
The constitutional developments started when the South tried to secede from the Union. The election of the anti-slavery Republican, Abraham Lincoln, as president in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. Four more states tried seceding by using the 10th amendment, which declared “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states.” The secession of Southern states caused a Civil War, which was, by itself, not a revolution. The Civil War is considered “America’s bloodiest clash”, which started in 1861 and ended in 1865. The Union was pitted against the Confederate States and resulted in the death of more than 620,000, with millions more injured. The war was over issues including states’ rights versus federal authority, westward expansion, and slavery.
Two years into the Civil War, Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862.

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