The laws adopted by the Confederate government to conduct the war undercut the claim that it consistently defended states' rights. The Union also expanded federal control over the states as it mobilized. Both sides discovered that a large war could not be run as a loose collection of governments free to ignore the centre. Secession therefore made the autonomy invoked in its defence harder to preserve.
Notable Point · 1:04:40-1:05:24
War centralization and the limits of states' rights
Both wartime governments reduced state autonomy because mobilizing a major war required stronger central control.