To what extent was the Civil War an important watershed in US social and economic history?

The period in American history prior to the Civil War was known as the "Great Expansion". Economic boom followed the expansion of the railroads westward across the continent and southward into Florida. The Civil War punctuated Florida's growth but left it relatively unscathed. Economic growth quickly followed the end of the Civil War. The Civil War split the nation. It was the most bitter conflict ever within the United States. The source of the conflict …

…born, and were forever buried in an ocean of fraternal blood." - Lieutenant General John B. Gordon(General in the confederate army) (Sinclair 1999 p213) Bibliography Basler, R.P (19?) (Ed.) The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Vol III http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/index.html Accessed on 03/04/02 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html?29,14 Accessed on 03/04/02 http://www.ipl.org Accessed on 03/04/02 Sinclair, A (1999) A Concise History of the United States Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited