This war was either a necessary result of existing causes or else it was a great national blunder. Many who recognize no order or law in the progress of civilization, deny both these propositions, and affirm that the war was produced solely by the personal ambition of party leaders, representing the _pro_ and _con._ of the institution of slavery. If the matter is viewed from the standpoint of the science of society, each one of these propositions is relatively true, but neither is absolutely so. The war was the necessary result of the growth of the principles of freedom within the general mind, in antagonism to special, local interests, which evidences that it did arise naturally, out of the existing conditions, while the individuals who were prominent upon either side may be considered as responsible for precipitating it. Those who stood by, constituting much the larger proportion of the representative men of the nation, and observed the growth of the conflict between the two extremes, without stepping in to control the situation, place it altogether in the light of a great national blunder or crime. Had the circumstances been controlled by this large third party, the first proposition would have been true, and yet the war have been prevented. We are obliged to speak relatively of relative things, and to consider facts, isolated from the general sum of all facts, and in a special sense, and in this sense the war was an enormous national blunder, and should have been averted by a bold grasping and control of the circumstances on the part of the Government and those whose _duty_ it was to have known what the result would be. These servants of the people, to whom was intrusted the welfare of the country, were utterly false and faithless, and allowed us to be precipitated, entirely unprepared, into a fratricidal war which cost the common country millions of lives and billions of treasure. How much better would it have been had the situation been understood and controlled; had the Government shown itself competent to meet it; had it raised armies and occupied the disaffected country and then abolished slavery, which it was finally obliged to do, but which could have been done previously without the sacrifice of life and wealth. Such action would have exhibited the highest order of statesmanship and would have been the admiration of ages.