Constitutional Problems in the Civil War

constitutionalism and constitutional interpretation, particularly in the nineteenth century, is often found outside the supreme court. There were no clear provisions for what the constitution meant in case of secession. As the war went on, congress and the president made decisions whose legality under the constitution may have been disputed,. But became constitutional because of what lincoln called the friction and abrasion of war. So the civil war, in that sense, is what historyan cynthe cynthia nicoletti calls a trial by battle.