During the course of 1863, with statements such as the Emancipation of Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln linked the eradication of slavery to the restoration of the Union and suggested that the Civil War was creating a new unified nation of free citizens, both black and white and in every geographic region. By the time of Lincoln’s assassination and the war’s end at the end of spring 1865 the question of slavery and succession seemed settled, but the nation now faced a new challenge of “reconstructing” or “restoring” the Union. By 1877, with reconstructing concluding, to what extent had Lincoln’s goal of forging a newly unified nation been achieved? Put differently, compared to roughly 1848, hoe unified had the country become by 1877, in terms of retiring the sectional, racial, and socioeconomic tensions of the mid-19th century? It may be helpful to consider whether U.S. history between 1848-1877 was characterized more by relative change or continuity. In answering this question pick at least TWO variables (class, race, gender, political power, economics, etc.) and discuss them in THREE regional contexts (i.e. North, South, Midwest; South vs. South and Midwest; South vs. South and North; North vs. North and South, etc.)