With the conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848, the United States seemed poised to fulfill the manifest destiny that was on the lips of journalists and politicians. Yet, even before the war was over, tensions over the issue of slavery erupted. Slavery symbolized the social, cultural, constitutional, and economic differences that were dividing the North and South. Through four years of bloody civil war and the loss of over 600,000 lives, the American republic decided the fate of slavery, asserted the supremacy of the federal government over state authority, and began to grapple with the...
With the conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848, the United States seemed poised to fulfill the manifest destiny that was on the lips of journalists...
Shortly after the beginning of the Civil War, Congress established the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War to investigate such matters as military contracts, trade with the enemy, treatment of the wounded, and the causes of Union defeat. But its greatest efforts were directed toward a more vigorous war effort--endorsing emancipation, the use of black soldiers, and the appointment of fighting generals--leading President Lincoln to fear that this watchdog committee would become little more than an "engine of agitation." The COCOW generated controversy throughout the war, and its legacy...
Shortly after the beginning of the Civil War, Congress established the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War to investigate such matters as military c...
