The income tax of 1861 was technically ___, but it was considered a war measure.

profitable

unneeded

unwarranted

unnecessary

unconstitutional

The correct answer is "unconstitutional."

President Abraham Lincoln passed the Income Tax of 1861 to pay for the Civil War. Income taxes were later deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1895. Then, in 1909, Congress proposed the 16th amendment, which was passed in 1913. This amendment established today's system of federal income tax.