The Federalists in the North, wanted a strong central government and chose to take a loose interpretation of the Constitution. The opposing political party, the Democratic-Republicans of the South, called for a weaker central government with stronger individual States' Rights, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. ... Such insubordination, differences in interpretation of the Constitution, and power struggles, made up the major political factors that led to the eruption of the Civil War. ...

• Word Count: 693
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Lincoln found himself in the role of commander in chief almost immediately after his inauguration, as the southern states began to secede from the Union. Lincoln had to make some very important decisions during the war that not only helped to win the war but also tested the Constitution, sometimes ...

• Word Count: 846
• Approx Pages: 3

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. ... "Freedom itself became a terrain of conflict, its substances open to different and sometimes contradictory interpretations, its content changing for whites as well as blacks in the aftermath of the Civil War" (Foner, 35). ...

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