Same as it was after the war; no change.
The assumption that the nation was "at peace" prior to the civil war presumes the absence of combat. Such was not the case. If you recall the Mexican war had preceded the civil war by just a relatively few years, and roughly 40 odd years prior to that, the nation ( such as it was) fought the War of 1812.
people identified with a particular region rather than with the nation as a whole
Italy.
Australia was seen as a fairly young nation prior to World War 1 as we had only Federated in 1901, so other countries had only recently recognised us as a "whole country". Australia's involvement in Warld War 1 put Australia "On the map".
Because of the huge alliances which existed prior to the war, any conflict involving almost any nation on Earth was going to inevitably draw in everybody else.
what was france position prior to world war I?
Prior to World War I, Germany had an alliance with two major European powers. The first was the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which controlled portions of southeastern Europe. The second was the nation of Italy.
The Egyptians wanted to wipe Israel off the map and replace it with the Arab Nation of Palestine as Gamal Abdel Nasser made painfully clear in numerous speeches prior to the war.
just prior to the Civil War
The war that split the Iroquois nation in to factions was the Revolutionary War. The Iroquois nation lived in the Northeast coastal region.
Prior to 1997, Hong Kong came under the rule of the United Kingdom
India.