[H. Paul Pressler IV]

The War would have been avoided had the South chosen to industrialize along with with the North and the First World nations of Europe.

[AzaleaCity5691]

We had no reason to industrialize before the war. Our cities were primarily ports or other transportation/distribution centers, they ran merchant economies just fine. In rural areas, anyone could own land, and many who were not planters did fine as subsistence farmers. Would have made no sense to promote policies that would have disrupted a social order that seemed to be working.

[P-40]

The War would have been avoided had the South chosen to industrialize

With an economy based largely on agribusiness and lacking the easy access to vast quantities of fresh water....I doubt they could have. This is true today for the most part.

Perhaps if the South had been paid up front for what amounted to a loss of property....who knows.