War and the Centralization of Power

The real underlying cause of the Civil War is one that has remained unresolved since the Revolution, nearly one hundred years earlier, namely the question of sovereignty and the right of each individual state to govern itself as the people saw best fit. Before the Revolution, each of the original thirteen states had been a colony administered by locally elected council and a royal government (Bridenbaugh 131). They were all different in climate, outlook, character, and even religion. One thing united them all, a growing resentment for rule from London (Bridenbaugh 66). In 1774, each colony sent delegates to a Continental Congress in Philadelphia to discuss their response to the British "Intolerable Acts." A bitter struggle followed that resulted in the colonies gaining independence from British rule. The problem of how to govern these states ensued. At first, the Articles of Confederation recognized the independence of each state and created a very weak central government to deal with almost nothing more than foreign policy. There was no executive branch to enforce any acts passed by Congress, nor a national court system. Also, amendments to the Articles of Confederation required a unanimous vote. This soon in practice proved to be a failure, and a new Constitution was adopted which created a stronger federal government with considerable powers to handle domestic issues (Bridenbaugh 155). In the creation of the United States, the states held a majority of the power with the authority to tax and possess militia. Here is the problem, the national government was given the powers to conduct war, but war will inevitably seize power from the states in order for the federal government to properly wage it.

As the Southern states succeed...

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