I'd go further back- Civil War and the justification for bringing the 10th Amendment to the point of needing life support, not to mention all the restrictions on the Bill of Rights that were enacted in the name of 'preserving the Union'. Lincoln actually admitted the Civil War was about this, and not slavery, numerous times. His government also set up the first income tax, which was promptly ruled unconstitutional by the SCOTUS of his day.
I'd go further back- Civil War and the justification for bringing the 10th Amendment to the point of needing life support, not to mention all the restrictions on the Bill of Rights that were enacted in the name of 'preserving the Union'.