[HandyDandy]

Lol. My dear, lol, I have no doubt that you are aware that your friend, “lampy” is the most virulent Lincoln basher, hater on FreeRepublic? Lol

[miss marmelstein]

We have plenty of south-haters right here on this thread to allow at least one Lincoln hater. Some of our southern freepers had family who fought in that war and want to honor their sacrifices. I respect that.

[DiogenesLamp]

I both bash and praise Lincoln. I have said several times that were I in his shoes and knowing what I know now, I would probably have done what he did, though I'm not sure I could have been so bold.

An independent South was a very strong economic and political threat to the Union. It would have eventually absorbed other Union states because of the economics being beneficial to them for joining the Confederacy. It would have certainly absorbed the border states.

I believe the territories would also have eventually gone Confederate due to the economic benefits of doing so.

The Confederacy would have continued to grow, and it would have grown at the expense of the Union. That is the threat I see now, and I have little doubt it was the threat that Lincoln and his Northeaster backers saw then.