Question

Why was the federal government's stance at the outset of the civil war

Answer 1

At the outset of the Civil War, the federal government's stance was to preserve the unity of the United States and to assert the authority of the federal government over individual states. President Abraham Lincoln and his administration believed that seceding from the Union was unconstitutional and took measures, including military force, to restore the states to the Union. The main objective of the federal government during the Civil War was to preserve the Union and defeat the Confederate States of America.