Question

Beyond abolishing slavery in the United States, the Civil War was a pivotal event in American history because?

Answer 1

was a direct cause of the Spanish-American war in 1898
established a military alliance between American and Great Britain
Established the supremacy of the national government over state governments
Allowed the United State to spread its borders westward to the Mississippi River but theres alot more read this Civil War ended in 1865 - would you consider something that takes 33 years to materialize a "direct cause"?

Britain remained officially neutral throughout the Civil War, with opinion split between favoring the confederacy and the union.

The Louisiana Purchase was in 1803, which expanded the borders of the United States westward OF the Mississippi river, not just to it.

The Civil War was fought in general terms over the abolition of slavery; however, more specifically, it was an ideological fight between those who favored a strong central government and those who favored the supremacy of states' rights. The confederacy were supporting a weak national organization (basically, that is the definition of the word "confederacy") while the Union wanted a strong central government. The south wanted states to determine their own laws regarding slavery and trade; the north wanted a central government to make those plans for the nation. The preservation of the Union at the end of the Civil War established the national government as superior to that of the states.