The Civil War assessed several questions from the Philadelphia Convention. One of which was the idea of slavery. There was a clear contradiction between the principles stated within the Declaration of Independence and the institution of slavery. The Civil War also impacted the identity of the United States. Rather than aligning with their respective state, people began to identify as a part of a single united entity, or the Union. This allowed the federal government to take an impactful role in the enforcement of laws upon its citizens. Following the Civil War, the Civil War Amendments were designed to both ensure the rights of newly emancipated slaves as well as limit the state’s abuse of power. They were intended to apply the rights in the Bill of Rights to all people. The 13th Amendment was the first step to granting former slaves’ freedom, where it abolished slavery “within the United States, or in any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The idea of secession was also ended, with the Northern victory bringing forth the idea of the Union. Citizenship was another issue solved as a result of the victory. Previously, there wasn't any definition to begin …show more content…
Following secession, southern states that wanted to rejoin the Union had to ratify the Civil War Amendments. This imposed power from the federal government was also supplemented by the Reconstruction Act of 1867. This exercise of federal power over the states marked a major shift in the extent and power of the federal government to states rights. However this was limited to a certain extent as the influence from radical republicanism dwindled and southern states passed black codes thus allowing Jim Crow laws to arise which barred African Americans from voting. Even under the newly ratified Amendments, states still were not granting citizens their rights given under the