Zinn chronicles disputes between the diverse castes of American society from the landing of Columbus, to the lackluster presidential elections of the Nineteen Nineties. ... American history can be described as a quarrel between those who control the balance of power, and those who wish to share in that responsibility. ... On the other side of the spectrum however, are those who are oppressed, but rather than resort to violence, they attempt to placate those who wield power. ... (Zinn, A People's History, 4) The formation of the first class struggle in the Americas became evident in t...

• Word Count: 902
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

No president in history had ever exerted so much executive authority, but he did so not for personal power but in order to preserve the Union. ... A statement of presidential intent to free the nation's slaves would clear the ideological waters and proclaim in no uncertain terms Lincoln's determination that the United States joins the world anti-slavery effort. ...

• Word Count: 627
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

This plan required at least 10 percent of the people who voted in 1860 to take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Union, upon doing so they would receive a presidential pardon. ... President Johnson was a strong believer in letting the state governments have most of the power in their own states, rather than the federal government. ...

• Word Count: 674
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

From 1836-1877 a loosely powered Presidential reconstruction of the Southern states existed while eventually a stricter more involved program by the Congress redeemed the southern states. ... This being considered the Slave Power Conspiracy that was addressed by Lincoln, he noted that the party had Democratic ideals while expressing northern hatred against the South's political sphere. ...

• Word Count: 1202
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The many constitutional issues raised during the Civil War brought a lot of attention to Abraham Lincoln and his alleged abuse of presidential power and blatant disregard for the Constitution. ... Lincoln increased the size of the army without congressional authorization, when the Constitution states that only Congress has the power to raise and support armies. ...

• Word Count: 1438
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Senator, and (notwithstanding James Buchanan's occupying the presidential chair) a leader of the Democratic Party.2 He also focused on the prejudices of his audience, saying that the government was created exclusively for whites in order to advocate "popular sovereignty," which maintained the right of the citizens of a territory to permit or prohibit slavery. ... For Lincoln, he pointed out that Douglas's position directly challenged the Dred Scott decision, which decreed that the citizens of a territory had no such power. ... Whereas the railroads were Douglas's mot...

• Word Count: 2032
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate