Question of the Week for July 7, 2014

This week’s Question of the Week comes to us from a reader. Some readers might find its tone impertinent, but we couldn’t deny that it was, indeed, a thought-provoking question:

With the 151st Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg last week, all the usual “what-if” questions popped up. What if Jackson had been there? What if Lee had listened to Longstreet? I think that’s missing the true “what-if” question: What if the South hadn’t been sore losers when they lost the election of 1860 and hadn’t seceded—how would the Battle of Gettysburg looked then?



2 Responses to Question of the Week for July 7, 2014

  1. Virginia’s Articles of Secession list near the top the election of 1860 as one of the major reasons why they seceded. If they and the other Southern states had learned compromise and diplomacy instead of being hotheads, the Civil War may have been postponed only. It would have eventually happened, but hopefully not to the extent of the Civil War during 1861-1865.

  2. I have often pondered this scenario: the South secedes, but graciously asks Mr. Lincoln what to do about Federal property. Lincoln either says to take it for free, pay for it, or give it back. The South does whatever Mr. Lincoln says, and goes about the business if becoming a country–creating relationships with other countries, doing something about currency, evening out shipping costs, and taking a hard look at the infrastructure problems. In short–no belligerence and no war.

    I am not convinced that war was inevitable if ALL options had been considered. However, no one seems to even have been able to envision secession without a fight. “And the war came.”

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