Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: Sherman Logan
Sherman Logan: "Their other option was to win their independence by force of arms.
At which they very nearly succeeded."

You are correct that Union victory was not preordained, given their dearth of effective military leaders.
General McClelland comes to mind.
Indeed, had the slave-power declared secession under a President Buchanan type, it may well have happened relatively peacefully.
But of course, they had no reason to secede under Buchanan.

Against expectations, Lincoln eventually proved a capable war-president, and found effective generals to lead the effort.
Yes, I'll grant you that any number of "what-ifs" might have changed the outcome, but one "what-if" would not change, short of Lincoln's assassination early in the war: Lincoln was not going to give up the fight unless completely defeated, and given the relative strength of the northern military-economy, that seems most unlikely.
Indeed, unlikely enough that I'd call Union victory more-or-less inevitable.

So, the Confederacy's fate was sealed because Lincoln (like Washington & FDR) was an "Unconditional Surrender" kind of guy.

203 posted on 02/01/2014 8:33:12 AM PST by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 201 | View Replies ]


To: BroJoeK

I agree with you.

Lincoln had a remarkably unlikely background for a great war leader, much more so than Davis, for example. But he turned out to be a lot more effective than Davis.


204 posted on 02/01/2014 9:04:52 AM PST by Sherman Logan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 203 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson