Term Papers on The Civil War

Term Paper Title	The Civil War
# of Words	1165
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.66

The Civil War

        During both the civil war and civil war reconstruction time periods,
there were many changes going on in the Union. The Emancipation Proclamation,
as well as legislation such as the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth
amendments, was causing a new awakening of democracy; while the renouncing of
secession by the South marked a definite triumph for Nationalism. As well, the
government was involved in altercations of its own. During reconstruction, the
legislative and executive branches eventually came to blows over the use of
power. The nation was being altered by forces which caused, and later repaired,
a broken Union.

        The first of these "forces", was the expansion of democracy. As early
as 1862, Lincoln was taking a major step in that direction. On September 22,
Lincoln announced the freeing of all slaves in areas not in Union control.
Although the proclamation did not free all slaves everywhere, it was the action
that would push Congress to pass the thirteenth amendment in 1865. The
amendment, ratified later in 1865, stated that "Neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude . . . shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to
their jurisdiction." It seemed democracy had triumphed by giving freedom to
slaves, but the amendment was not complete. It only stopped slavery, and made
no provisions for citizenship; therefore, blacks were still not considered
United States citizens. The fourteenth amendment was the democratic expansion
that fixed that problem. Originally passed to "put a number of matters beyond
the control or discretion of the president," the amendment also made "All
persons born or naturalized in the United States . . . citizens of the United
States." It also provided that, "No State shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States." This not only gave new meaning to
black men's freedom, but it also gave a new and broader meaning to citizenship.
Those drafting the amendment hoped that the broadness of would cover
"unanticipated abuses", yet, the general phrasing was only an advantage to
abusers. There is no listing of the "privileges or immunities" offered to U.S.
citizens. In fact, there is not even a clarification of what rights a "citizen"
has. These generalities, and the abuses that went with them, prompted the
adoption of the fifteenth amendment in 1870. The final major step towards
democratic expansion during reconstruction, the fifteenth amendment granted "
The right of citizens of the United States to vote," and that right, "shall not
be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This
amendment finally took out loopholes existent in the thirteenth and fourteenth
amendments. The government of the United States was coming closer to being a
government by all of the people, and not just whites. Civil war reconstruction
offered more than just extended democracy, however. It was also a time of
national unification.

        One of the major boosts to United States nationalism, began with the
simple Union victory over the confederacy. Secession was unconstitutional
according to those who supported the Union. By defeating the confederacy, the
Union had only confirmed that fact. As well, the radical Republican
reconstruction plan called for an official renunciation of secession, before
states could be readmitted to the Union. If secession from the Union was now
illegal, then Daniel Webster's theory of the Constitution being a people's
government, and not a compact of states had to be true. "The Constitution . . .
[begins] with the words 'We the people,' and it was the people, not the states,
who . . . created it," Webster claimed in his nationalist theory of the
Constitution. The Union became more united than ever...

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