Throughout American history, wars have served as distinct moments of political change, as simultaneously the power relations of the federal and state government have shifted to address the necessities of war, while the wars themselves have altered the landscape underneath the feet of citizens and political actors. There is also a sense that wars, in general, are likely to have dramatic effects on the development of politics within a nation. And decisive answers were obtained for two pressing questions of the first half of the 19 th century: what was the future of slavery and does the ultimate authority within the federal system lay with the federal government or the individual states. Rights of citizenship, the structure and role of the military, the relative power of the presidency, taxation policies, and the structure of the party system were all strongly affected by the war. Across numerous dimensions of political life, the United States was radically altered between the beginning of secession in 1861 and the end of Reconstruction in 1876. Historians and political scientists have long viewed the civil war and its aftermath as a formative period of American political development.
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