Shelby Foote made the comment that the South never really had a chance as the North fought the war with one hand tied behind its back or words to that effect. Why not untie it? Unifying? I see it as divisive from the start. Excluding the South held it up to begin with. Labor available? The draft was instituted in 1864 to the thinning Union ranks. I simply suspect it had more to do with financial gain than any national will. A bit cynical perhaps, but the capitalists of that time were as rapacious as any of todays megacorps.
Pete S