[BroJoeK]

KrisKrinkle: "everyone seems to give too much credit or blame to Lincoln when it should be given to the Northern States."

I think you lack an accurate sense of the sequence of events here, so let's review:

1. In 1860 the Union army can be summarized as follows:

   "When the American Civil War began in April 1861, there were only 16,000 men in the U.S. Army, and of these many Southern officers resigned and joined the Confederate army.
   The U.S. Army consisted of ten regiments of infantry, four of artillery, two of cavalry, two of dragoons, and three of mounted infantry.
   The regiments were scattered widely.
   Of the 197 companies in the army, 179 occupied 79 isolated posts in the West, and the remaining 18 manned garrisons east of the Mississippi River, mostly along the Canada–United States border and on the Atlantic coast."

   In other words: prior to Fort Sumter (4/12/1861) the Union army was simply not an effective fighting force.

2. February 18, 1861 in Jefferson Davis' inaugural address he promised there would be war if Confederate "integrity" was "assailed".

3. March 3, 1861 before Lincoln's inauguration, Davis ordered preparations for military assault on Union Fort Sumter.

4. March 4, in Lincoln's inaugural he promised not to "assail" Confederates so they could not have war unless they themselves started it.

5. March 6 the Confederate congress authorized raising up a 100,000 man Confederate army, Union army still 16,000 widely scattered.
   Confederate rosters were quickly filled in those days.

6. April 15, after Fort Sumter President Lincoln called up 75,000 3-month volunteers the first regiments of which began arriving in Washington, DC the following week.

7. April 19, Lincoln ordered General Scott's "Anaconda Plan" blockade to begin.

8. April 23, Jefferson Davis offered military aid to Confederates fighting in Union Missouri, and Union officers captured in Texas are held as prisoners of war.

9. April 29, Confederate congress granted war powers to Davis.

10. May 3, Lincoln called up another 42,000 3-year volunteers bringing the total US Army to 156,000 called.

11. May 6, Confederacy formally declared war on the United States.

12. May 9, Confederate congress authorized another 400,000 Confederate troops, now 500,000 in total.

13. June 10, Confederates suffered their first soldier killed in battle, at Big Bethel.

14. July 4 Lincoln called up another 400,000 troops making the Union total now 556,000.

15. July 21, the first major battle, Manassas pitted 36,000 Union (18,000 engaged) against 34,000 Confederates (18,000 engaged) producing 4,700 total casualties.

Point is: In early 1861 Confederates were preparing for war weeks & months before Washington, DC was seriously thinking of it.

KrisKrinkle: "I would say that the Democratic Party lost the election of 1860 and had a hissy fit.
As I recall, all the Southern State governments were filled with Democrats.
Further, Democrats in the North tried to undermine the war effort."

It's built into Democrats' political DNA, since they began as the anti-Federalist faction opposed to ratification of the US Constitution and have been trying to bend it to suit their own purposes ever since.

KrisKrinkle: "I also think that at it’s core (not the Average Joe party member), the Democratic Party is still working toward the dissolution of the United States."

Well said, I also think that at it’s core (not the Average Joe party member), the Democratic Party is still working toward the dissolution of the United States.

[KrisKrinkle]

“I think you lack an accurate sense of the sequence of events here, so let’s review:”

I don’t disagree with your sequence of events. I don’t deny the part the seceding States played, but I wasn’t trying to address that.

At the beginning of the thread it says “Lincoln was the same sort of tyrant, and personally responsible for the deaths of over 800,000 Americans in a war that was unnecessary and unconstitutional.” I was writing in opposition to statements like that when I wrote “everyone seems to give too much credit or blame to Lincoln when it should be given to the Northern States”. I believe too many credit Lincoln with more power than he had. If he hadn’t had backing, support, and all those volunteers from the Northern States things would have been different.