>I’ve wondered recently if the US civil war really needed to happen and if the states and world would be better off if it hadn’t. We are taught so as kids but l

>I’ve wondered recently if the US civil war really needed to happen and if the states and world would be better off if it hadn’t. We are taught so as kids but learning more I’m not so sure. It certainly would have been better if it didn't happen, 720K lives and countless fortunes and the decimation of 1/2 the land mass. Reconstruction was pretty horrible for ex-slaves as well. Of course slaves suffer being slaves for longer if there was no war. No one would ever know how long it would have taken to end slavery without the war, but I doubt it would exist today if things had continued without it. >Today’s polarization is also supported by having a larger country with different views pulling in different directions. I'm convinced today's polarization is a lot of theatre intended to divide. I analog it to crowds cheering different WWE wrestlers during the match, only to have the wrestlers have a beer together after the show.