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One nuance this summary misses is that there was a serious hesitancy among Northern politicians to seriously address the slavery issue. While many believed it w

One nuance this summary misses is that there was a serious hesitancy among Northern politicians to seriously address the slavery issue. While many believed it was abominable, they didn't step up to stop it because it would shake up the status quo which by and large benefited them.

AnimalMuppet 5y ago
True, the status quo benefited them. But also, when the status quo did get shaken up, it resulted in half a million dead. A leader with any foresight would hesitate to open that particular Pandora's Box.
- brightstep 5y ago
  That's true, and there may have been fewer casualties if such a leader had stepped up sooner
  - kaesar14 5y ago
    Correct, and don't discount the generations of men and women born into bondage because of the inability of northern leaders to step up sooner. It's a little insulting to suggest the half million soldiers dead are the cost of the Civil War, when it's also the millions who suffered from the existence of the institution of slavery.
  - mywittyname 5y ago
    Or the USA would cease to exist. The fact that this issue needed to be settled by a brutal war puts into perspective just how difficult of a problem this was to solve. If this issue was tackled earlier, it's very possible that the country would have split into two factions, which would then compete with one another during westward expansion, triggering a conflict that would turn out to be much more devastating.
- pdonis 5y ago
  The most interesting case to compare with in this regard is Britain, which freed its slaves with essentially zero cost in lives--by paying off the slave owners. I'm not sure that could ever have been on the table in the US given the position abolitionists took, but it's interesting to wonder how things might have gone if it had been.
  - edflsafoiewq 5y ago
    Brazil freed its slaves with no compensation at all (in either direction).
deeg 5y ago
I disagree here. What could the North have done differently (post 1792) to seriously address the slavery issue? The Southern states had enough political power to put off any major reform; e.g. they had enough clout to engineer the dreadful Dred Scott decision.

AnimalMuppet 5y ago

True, the status quo benefited them. But also, when the status quo did get shaken up, it resulted in half a million dead. A leader with any foresight would hesitate to open that particular Pandora's Box.

brightstep 5y ago
That's true, and there may have been fewer casualties if such a leader had stepped up sooner
- kaesar14 5y ago
  Correct, and don't discount the generations of men and women born into bondage because of the inability of northern leaders to step up sooner. It's a little insulting to suggest the half million soldiers dead are the cost of the Civil War, when it's also the millions who suffered from the existence of the institution of slavery.
- mywittyname 5y ago
  Or the USA would cease to exist. The fact that this issue needed to be settled by a brutal war puts into perspective just how difficult of a problem this was to solve. If this issue was tackled earlier, it's very possible that the country would have split into two factions, which would then compete with one another during westward expansion, triggering a conflict that would turn out to be much more devastating.
pdonis 5y ago
The most interesting case to compare with in this regard is Britain, which freed its slaves with essentially zero cost in lives--by paying off the slave owners. I'm not sure that could ever have been on the table in the US given the position abolitionists took, but it's interesting to wonder how things might have gone if it had been.
- edflsafoiewq 5y ago
  Brazil freed its slaves with no compensation at all (in either direction).

deeg 5y ago

I disagree here. What could the North have done differently (post 1792) to seriously address the slavery issue? The Southern states had enough political power to put off any major reform; e.g. they had enough clout to engineer the dreadful Dred Scott decision.