Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War

The American Civil War was fought from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865. It was a most savage and brutal war. At the time the population of the United States was around 30 million. The civil war resulted in the deaths of approximately 620,000 individuals. This is a staggering figure for a single nation, and that too 160 years ago! If one were to extrapolate these figures to the current US population of 341.8 million, the deaths would stand at a little over 7 million! The one man responsible for this carnage and bloodshed was none other than the much revered Abraham Lincoln. Why was the unnecessary war really fought, how did it impact the real character of the Federation known as the United States,  and what was Lincoln’s true role in this bloody episode? These questions will be addressed briefly in what follows.