[C19fan]

“Lincoln once said the North must prove “that popular government is not an absurdity....”

Yes the whole world was watching. The British gentry Tory elite and a lot of Whigs too were hoping the Union would fail to prove what a folly a representative gov’t on a continental scale was.

[baltimorepoet]

Yes the whole world was watching. The British gentry Tory elite and a lot of Whigs too were hoping the Union would fail to prove what a folly a representative gov’t on a continental scale was.

The US has only so far lasted a little more than 200 years. That length of time is only a blip compared to how long the Roman Empire lasted. Does anyone actually think the US will continue as a political entity as long as the Romans did?

Ultimately, dividing the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves prolonged the survival of Roman Empire.

I suspect that had the US been divided into a North and a South, the South would not have allowed the social issues of unlimited illegal immigration and festering entitlement systems. With no checks on such, I suspect the North would have collapsed and much sooner than the US as a whole will.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

1. If the France of Napoleon III had enetered the war on the side of the south (To preserve her Mexican expedition) the South may have won—if the French Navy had broken the blocade the south might have won.
2. If Booth had killed Lincoln in 1863 -—Johnston would not have won re-election, McClellin would have won and made peace with the south.
3. If Jackson had not been killed at Chancelersville —he would have won the Battle of Gettysburg—captured Washington DC, and Lincoln would have been captured and brought to Richmond for terms.
4. If England had joined the south and invaded from Canada. The war would have gone to the south.
5. If the south had freed all of her slaves—drafted them to fight it would have taken away a big part of the Northern rational for the war.