After the civil war, the fundamental task of the Central Government was to adopt a proper policy of reconstruction and re-union with a view to strengthening the American Federation. But due to various reasons, the task was a complex one.

The sad assassination of President Lincoln made it amply clear that the fanatics were strongly opposed to a progressive policy. He, indeed, had hated slavery and desired its abolition. But he actually fought for Union and not for the emancipation of the slaves as such. His primary purpose was to protect and preserve the unity of the Federation by thwarting the disintegrating attitude of the South. Continue Reading »

The Crisis
Yet the crisis came up in 1861 when the civil war broke out with a threat to the very existence of the Federation. Of course, a conflict between the north and the South was inevitable and this is a real wonder that how the breakdown could have been avoided for such a long period of time. In fact, ever since the formation of the Union, the units of the North and the South were cross-purposes. Ostensibly, the war centered round the institution of slavery; but, in fact, it was involved with much bigger issues of political and economic affairs as well. There was a strong reason for which the Southern states intended to desert the Union. While the North was highly industrialized, the South depended upon Agriculture and the finished goods from the North. Moreover, the South needed the slaves for agriculture, but the North was in favor of their emancipation. “The cotton-growing South, irritated by the growing threat of Abolitionist Movement, and fearing this predominance in the Congress, began to talk of secession from the union” (Wells). In short, the interests were very much conflicting. Gradually, the idea state-right gained ground and the Southern states began to think that it was useless to remain in the Federation. As their political fear along with the economic grudge mixed up, the existence of the Federation was seriously at stake. Continue Reading »