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Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl
I will contend that the civil war was one of the U.S.'s most useless wars. It was started over a tax. Specifically a tax on imports from Britain. Had the North been constitutionalist this never would have happened.
I would like to add that Abraham Lincoln was not a good president. If he was so good why could he not avoid a war. Furthermore, why did the emancipation proclomation free slaves in the states he had no legal authority over? The two states where he could have freed them (West Virginia and Kentucky) were excluded.
Lastly I posit that the preservation of the Union did more harm then good, as compared to a Union of States. Which would you prefer; your own state's excessive taxation and limited gubernatorial ability, or that with an incompetent federal government passing regulations on top of those you are already beset by?
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a. Lincoln could not avoid a war because by the time he was elected war was pretty much an inevitability. It had been building for over a decade.
b. Had the south won I firmly believe the nation would have continued to fragment eventually leading to 48 independent countries most likely constantly at war with each other and at least unable to unite against 20th century enemies.
c. Had the south won Seward would never have purchased Alaska which would have put Soviet tank divisions on the North American continent. Not a pretty thought.
d. All the post civil war achievements of the United States, landing man on the moon for example, do not happen because at 1/50th of the budget no single state would be able to afford it.