The Civil War (apr 12, 1861 – apr 9, 1865)

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The Civil War started because the southern states wanted slavery. The North was trying to abolish slavery. The south had built their entire economy on the use of slave labor and felt that the federal gov't had no power to take that away from them. They felt like their rights were being infringed upon and decided to secede from the United States. This entire conflict between the Union and the Confederacy was a power struggle. The south preached states rights while the Union cited the supremacy clause. In the end, the Union won the war and more power shifted in the direction of the federal government as a result.

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