[DoughtyOne]

I don't think all the federal abuses that are evident today occurred in Lincoln's time. I would agree with that. I do think he laid the groundwork for it. As for what we could or could not have done in the 20th century without a dominating federal government, I'm not sure that's a good arguement for userped state's rights.

[Colonel Kangaroo]

My feeling is that if Lincoln had not prevailed, we would have seen a 20th century marked by an American people divided under two rival federal governments. Not only would American power have been divided in the face of the rest of the world, but tension in North America would have pushed both Washington and Richmond into stronger positions with respect to their states. The federal government in Richmond was also moving toward greater powers to the detriment of the Confederate state governments. I don't see how that would abate under the pressure of an intra-American cold war.