“We may congratulate ourselves that this cruel war is nearing its end. It has cost a vast amount of treasure and blood. . . . It has indeed been a trying hour for the Republic; but I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless.”
Lincoln to (Col.) William F. Elkins, Nov. 21, 1864.
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And who would know better than the very person who let that monster out of the box? Yes, High levels of corruption did indeed follow. This is known as the era of the "Robber Barons" by Critics, and the "Gilded Era" by admirers.
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“These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert to fleece the people, and now that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people’s money to settle the quarrel.”
speech to Illinois legislature, Jan. 1837. See Vol. 1, p. 24 of Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln
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Which is how the Civil War occurred. Northern Power Brokers didn't want to lose the money and trade created by Southern Power Brokers' slaves, and so they got Lincoln to launch a war with the "people's money" to protect their financial interests.