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Something not many people talk about as a result and reason for the Civil War, was the massive and permanent change in the size and nature of the federal government. Northern Republicans used the opportunity to pass every policy on their wishlist without the previous opposition.
The war's most immediate legacy was growth: the federal government, the population, and the country itself all got bigger. The size and role of the federal government began a dramatic expansion, starting a trend that has never reversed.
In 1860, the last full year before the fighting began, the federal budget was $78 million. By 1867, the first year in which the war could be eliminated as a major economic factor, the federal budget had grown almost fivefold, to $376.8 million. It never again dipped below $300M.
The thing about the size, power and nature of this new federal govt is that it is self-sustaining, will never vote to stop expanding. Industrialization, and the push towards urban living was a political goal, far before it was a war goal. The Civil War was a convenient excuse.
Once a federal department gets started, it will never close, and will only diversify or change names. These things grow and have their own interests. 
So, when people tell me the federal government fought the war to end slavery, well, that’s not even close to the whole story. The federal government was fighting a war to save itself and expand itself, with or without slavery. 
The Bureau of Military Information (BMI) was the first formal and organized intelligence agency, active during the American Civil War. The Army would create its Military Intelligence Division in 1885, which would become the US Army Intelligence and Security Command.
I’ll just end this thread by saying that the federal government can do great things...end slavery...win wars...expand democracy worldwide...but saying these things are the goal of federal government isn’t 100% true. Government of a certain size acquires its own gravity, sentience
