Religious concepts had a profound influence on the evolution of
             American intellectual thought during the Civil War. Thomas Paine's Common
             Sense, which predated the American Civil War by almost a century, argued
             that religious differences would simply supply the fledgling American
             nation with a diversity of opinion and a greater opportunity for Christian
             kindness. As the Civil War spit America over the issue of slavery, it
             became clear that religious concepts drove the differences in opinion over
             slavery. As the Civil War ended, Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural
             Address referred to both sides' use of religion to justify their aims, and
             prayed for a peaceful end to the conflict.
             Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), one of the earliest of America's
             influential intellectual works calls for religious tolerance, and suggests
             that differences in religious concepts can be healthy for a developing
             nation. Common Sense was a seminal work in intellectual thought that drove
             America toward independence. Paine's work placed blame for suffering in
             the colonies firmly on the shoulders of Britain's King George III, and
             called for America's independence from British rule. In Common Sense,
             Thomas Paine argued strongly that a diversity of religious opinion was
             healthy, as it provided a larger opportunity for Christian kindness.
             Despite Paine's great influence, his views on religious tolerance
             were not necessarily shared by many in either the north or south during the
             Civil War. Instead, the issue of slavery seemed to polarize American
             intellectual thought, with Americans either using religious concepts to
             Slavery and religion were deeply intertwined concepts during the
             Civil War. Religion was often used as a reason for justifying slavery. In
             the South, religion often focused on personal piety, and faith was often
             used as a justification for slavery. Many intelle
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