The Civil War was the bloodiest war to be fought on American soil. Although both sides expected the conflict to be over in a matter of days, it lasted four tumultuous years, from 1861-1865. The war pitted brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor. The period of Reconstruction, the time when our nation attempted to mend its broken relations with the South and rebuild after the destructive war, lasted until 1877. What many people don’t know is that the original intent of the Civil War was to preserve the Union. Many factors went into Lincoln’s decision to also address slavery through this war. For one, the number of men enlisting in the war was dwindling, and it b