The Civil War in the Age of Nationalism

Nineteenth-century Great Britain and the United States were two nations which believed in their own exceptionalism and who viewed themselves as models for the rest of the world. Despite this, both were very much influenced by, and part of, the changes sweeping the globe in the mid-nineteenth century. So, for example, both experienced the phenomenon of modernizing wars just years apart. Great Britain was the first to experience this in the Crimean War, the United States following five years later in its civil war.

Similarly, while many American historians believe the Civil War rescued global democracy, representative government was not in decline, and in Britain the move to expand the franchise continued unimpacted.

Finally, as with other nations, both the United States and Britain were imperial powers. Thus, even as the Civil War raged, the United States continued its campaigns against the Native Americans, which eventually resulted in, among other…