The form of government in the USA in the conditions of civil war (1861-1865

The paper deals with the essence of the American state during the Civil war (1861-1865). The author makes an effort of a detailed historical and legal study of the transformation of the form of government in the United States in the period of active hostilities and acute internal political crisis. The subject of analysis is the policy and decrees adopted by the President of the United States Abraham Lincoln, contributed to the change of policy, expansion of presidential powers, and creating eventually a new legal doctrine of the United States - a doctrine of emergency powers of the President. The analysis reveals the importance of presidential proclamations as regulations that influenced the expansion of non-constitutional powers of the President; the author of the paper studies the influence of the presidential elections of 1860 on secession processes and the further outbreak of the war of the Northern and Southern States. As a result, the author states the strengthening of the presidential, executive power during the Civil war.