In what ways and to what extent did constitutional and social development between 1860 and 1877 amount to a revolution?

Essay by ilnet2000High School, 11th grade January 2004

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From the time of Lincoln's inauguration in 1860 to the final withdrawal of union troops from the South in 1877, the nation of America had been one of great revolutions. There was constant development in this time both socially and constitutionally. For instance, some constitutional developments that irrupted conflict were the secession of the confederate states, the Emancipation Proclamation, the three civil rights bills, and the reconstruction. Some social developments that caused conflict were the Freedmen's Bureau, the Black Codes, and the Ku Klux Klan. It was a result of these developments that the Revolutions of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Redeemers would take place. The great change these revolutions brought about were vital in the development of this country

One of the constitutional developments that caused a revolution during this time frame, had to do with the South Carolina Declaration of Causes of Secession, which is stated in Document A.

The southerners felt that it was their constitutional right to own slaves and did not see a time when they should be required to give up that right. However, upon the election of Lincoln as President, the southerners felt threatened, and felt their slave holding rights were being threatened, and in an effort to protect these rights they chose to secede from the union. This action angered the President and many Republicans because they believed that it was unconstitutional for a state to secede. Senator John Sherman on the other hand believed that they gave the states too much power and rights in government that this is the reason the government being overthrown.

One of the social developments that caused a revolution was the Freedmen's Bureau. The Freedmen's Bureau was supposed to give Homesteads to the freed slaves, but they failed to keep their promise, as...