Editing History of North America (section)

==Conflict, confederation, and invasion==

{{main|History of the United States (1849–1865)|American Civil War|Canadian Confederation|Second French intervention in Mexico}}
[[File:Thure de Thulstrup - L. Prang and Co. - Battle of Gettysburg - Restoration by Adam Cuerden (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Gettysburg]] is widely considered the [[Turning point of the American Civil War|turning point]] of the American Civil War]]
The secession of the [[Confederate States]] and the resulting civil war rocked American society. It eventually led to the end of slavery in the United States, the destruction and later [[reconstruction Era|reconstruction]] of most of the South, and tremendous loss of life. From the conflict, the United States emerged as a powerful industrialized nation.

Partly as a response to the threat of American power, four of the Canadian colonies agreed to federate in 1867, creating the [[Dominion]] of Canada. The new nation was not fully sovereign, but enjoyed considerable independence from Britain. With the addition of [[Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871)|British Columbia]], Canada would expand to the Pacific by 1871 and establish a transcontinental railway, the Canadian Pacific, by 1885.

In Mexico, conflicts such as the [[Reform War]] left the state weak, and open to foreign influence. This led to the [[Second French Empire]] to invade Mexico.