Transcript Unit Three - Lesson 17

Unit Three - Lesson 17
How the Civil War Tested and Transformed the American
Constitutional System
How did Constitutional Issues lay
Foundations for the Civil War?

The Constitution and Slavery
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3/5ths Compromise
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20 year ban on laws about the importation of new slaves
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A continual struggle between the interests of the Northern states and the
“Southern Block”
3/5ths compromise gave the Southern Block enough voting power in the Senate
to block most action designed to chip away at slavery
Congress passed and President Jefferson signed a ban on the importation of new
slaves 20 years later
Americans debated for years whether the Constitution
allowed for slavery to exist
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Those in favor of slavery said yes. The Constitution gave no enumerated
power over slavery
Those against (Abolitionists) said no. That “slavery” or “slave” was never used
in the Constitution and that showed the Framers knew it had no place in a
republican country
They also stated that the 20 year ban on the importation of new slaves meant
that the Framers wanted it banned after 20 years
How did Constitutional Issues lay
Foundations for the Civil War?

The Constitution and New Territories

Congress WAS given the power to make rules and regulations about the
territories and about new states
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The Northwest Ordinance (1787) banned slavery in the Northwest Territory
and all states created from it
The Louisiana Purchase opened up a whole new huge territory
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Missouri Compromise (1820): Missouri would be a slave state, and any territory south
of Missouri’s border could also become slave states. Any territory north of Missouri’s
border would be “free” states
The Annexation of Texas (1846-48) disrupted the balance between slave and free
states
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Southerners feared this would stop the balance of power
Northerners believed none of the new territory should be allowed to be slave
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Compromise: California would be a free state with no slave state to balance it. But the
FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT was passed providing for the capture and return of escaped slaves
Kansas Nebraska Act (1854) allowed people of the territory to decide if they
would be free or slave
How did Constitutional Issues lay
Foundations for the Civil War?
 Fugitive Slave Law
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The Fugitive Slave Act in the Constitution (1787) was rarely enforced
The new Fugitive Slave Law (1850) was stronger, angered many northerners
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Everyone was forced to help capture runaway slaves
Many northern states passed “personal liberty laws” to get around the FSL
Dred Scott v. Sandford
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Dred Scott was a slave who’s master took him north to free states
Upon return to the South, Scott sued his master for his freedom, citing that he had
lived in free states and thus was free
The Supreme Court ruled against Scott
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African Americans, whether free or slave, could not be citizens of the US
 States could grant citizenship but these individuals could not enjoy the rights of citizenship
under the Constitution
The national gov’t DID NOT have the power to exclude slavery from new territories
 Slaves were property and the national gov’t could not limit property
The 5th Amendment’s DUE PROCESS protected property rights
 The Constitution protected the right to own property (slaves) anywhere in the US
Arguments FOR/AGAINST secession
and its constitutionality
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The election of Abraham Lincoln (a free soiler) made southern states
believe that slavery would be restricted and/or abolished
11 southern states responded with secession

(MS, FL, AL, GE, LA, TX, VR, AR, NC, TN) formed the Confederate States of
America and adopted a new constitution in March 1861
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2 arguments for their constitutional rights to do so
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President Lincoln rejected the constitutional right to secede
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No state gave up its sovereignty when it ratified the Constitution
Based in the Declaration of Independence, citizens and states possessed the right to revolt if their
fundamental rights (property rights) were violated
Framers created a perpetual union
Lincoln believed the South seceded not because their rights had been denied but
because they were afraid they would lose their slaves
The Confederate States of America created a government much like that
of the US Constitution
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Some differences
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President would serve one 6 year term
Congress banned from appropriating money to make internal improvements and making tariffs that
benefitted businesses
It explicitly protected slavery “no law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves”
What constitutional issues did
the Civil War provoke?
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Slavery: main reason the South went to war (property rights)
Preservation of the Union (duty of the president to defend the
Constitution)
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Lincoln saw the Southern secession as a “domestic insurrection”
Lincoln expanded the powers of the president (?unconstitutional?)
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Calling up the militia (expanded when Congress not in session)
Suspended HABEAS CORPUS (defying an order by Congress and the Supreme
Court)
Emancipation Proclamation: ended slavery in states in revolt (committed to
LIBERTY for all)
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Deny source of labor to the South & impact its ability to make war
Morally, end the institution of slavery
Profound political and symbolic significance
How the Civil War resolved issues the
Framers left unanswered
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Slavery
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Secession
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The Civil War ended slavery, but the 13th Amendment made it real
The Civil War ended the idea that states had a constitutional right to secede
Federalism ensured states still had significant power, but the supremacy of the national
government was locked in
National Citizenship
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Black Codes quickly passed by southern states to prevented former slaves from
developing political power (education & vote)
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14th Amendment declared all persons born or naturalized in the US are citizens.
prohibits states from making any laws abridging these rights or denying DUE
PROCESS or EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW

It
15th Amendment prohibited national or state governments from denying citizens the
right to vote because of their race, color or status as former slaves.
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Political power will follow, even in the South
Bill of Rights Practice

Look at the list of rights in the Bill of Rights on the white board
Categorize these rights with the following:
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1 - Power to Stand Up Against a Gov’t Abusing Its Power
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2 - Power Against the Government – Legally
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3 - Rights Reserved
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Bill of Rights
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Right to Free Expression (SPRAP)
Right to Bear Arms
Rights Against Quartering Troops
Rights Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
Rights of Due Process
Rights to a Fair Trial
Rights to Common Law/Civil Trial
Rights Against Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Rights Reserved to the People
Rights Reserved to the States
The Aftermath of the Civil War
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Public Support for protecting the rights of newly freed slaves weakened
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14th & 15th Amendments became ineffectual tools for protecting rights
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Southern states began passing laws denying rights
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Poll Taxes: required to pay to vote
Literacy Tests: required to prove you could read/write before they could vote
Grandfather Clauses: Could only vote if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote
When the US government failed to enforce these amendments, African Americans
learned the promises weren’t for them
For the next 100 years, laws were used to DENY their rights rather than protect
them (institutional racism)
The African American leaders would try to use the 14th & 15th Amendments
to challenge the government, to make them protect rights rather than deny them
Review
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
What was the Dred Scott case about? Why was the
Supreme Court’s decision in that case important?
How did Southern states justify the decision to secede from
the Union? How did President Lincoln and other
Northerners justify treating secession as an act of rebellion?
In what ways did President Lincoln assert presidential
powers during the Civil War.
On what constitutional grounds did President Lincoln issue
the Emancipation Proclamation? Why did the Emancipation
Proclamation not free all the slaves in the US?
What are the key provisions of the 13th
Amendments?
, 14th, & 15th