Peace and Reunification
On Palm Sunday, 1865 General R. E. Lee surrendered to Lt. General U. S. Grant signaling the end of the Southern States' attempt to create a separate nation. The surrender set the stage for the emergence of an expanded and more powerful Federal government. In a sense the struggle between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, in Philadelphia, over how much power the central government would hold had finally been settled. The end of the war led directly to the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution – ending slavery, providing citizenship and male suffrage.
