[weikel]

The railroad subsidies started before the Civil War you can't blame that one on Lincoln more like Hamilton and Henry Clay.

[billbears]

Of who lincoln was an avid follower. Subsidies of the scale that was approved for Union-Pacific were not seen before the War. And what were Clay's and Hamilton's motives? To unite the power at the federal level. It boils down to this and this only. The War was a fight between those that believed Jefferson and those that believed Hamilton. A Federalist/Anti-Federalist battle. And unfortunately the Anti-Federalists lost