The great question that was ever disturbing peace in Argentina was the fight between the Federalists, those who favoured a centralized power, and the Unitarians, who wanted the provinces to remain supreme. It was similar to the problem of states’ rights as against a strong union, which was not settled in the United States until a disastrous civil war had been waged between the two factions. The question first arose under Rivadavia, who allowed it to drift along. It did drift, and became more formidable each year until it became the pivot around which all struggles centred, and was the primary cause of forty years of strife and much bloodshed. The province of Buenos Aires was always a strong adherent of the Unitarian idea, for that meant its continued supremacy by reason of its overshadowing strength. For that reason the other provinces rejected it. As the city of Buenos Aires enlarged, the question became more and more formidable. The mooted theme caused Rivadavia to resign his office; it made possible the disastrous dictatorship of Rosas; it hampered Presidents Urquiza and Mitre in the reforms attempted by them. It was not until Buenos Aires was forcibly organized into a Federal District that this cause of perpetual friction disappeared. Argentina felt a sense of relief upon the downfall of Rosas, and once more the people breathed freely. The supreme power naturally fell into the hands of the victorious General Urquiza. The provinces had suffered most severely during the long period of civil wars. In Rioja the government had been overthrown fifteen times in seven months. Some of them were isolated, others had been badly devastated, but all of them were poor. Buenos Aires alone had increased in wealth and population. Hundreds of liberals had left the city or been exiled, but thousands had sought that city as a refuge from the disorders of the interior. Many English and Irish had settled in that province and engaged in the raising of sheep and cattle. The city alone contained one-fourth of the entire population of the confederation, and the rest of the province had increased more rapidly than any of the others. Although military rule was ended with the change in government, the real subject of dispute was far from being solved.