The Constitution was Constitional Law period, its powers belonged to the people, it told the Government how to act and gave protections to the people. After Lincoln's people changed it; Congressional laws can be interpeted as supporting a Constitutional amendment, making it easier to allow Congress to pass laws, and as many laws as they want. Before those clauses were added to the Constitution, Congress did not have such powerful legal tools and Constitutional amendments to back them up.

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David Upton