In the context of the text, how are we changed by war? How did the American Civil War influence Abraham Lincoln's views on the nation and the future? Cite evidence from this text, your own experience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer.

The war had changed his perspective. Wartime exigencies had vastly expanded the federal government, which Lincoln now viewed as a powerful means of unifying the people and promoting liberty. Only a united nation with a strong central government, he believed, could end slavery and protect liberty.