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Interestingly, South Carolina declared its independence December 20, 1860, and the US Civil War didn't begin until April 12, 1861, when the Confederate Army att
by saalweachter 4y ago
Interestingly, South Carolina declared its independence December 20, 1860, and the US Civil War didn't begin until April 12, 1861, when the Confederate Army attacked Fort Sumter.
It's an intriguing historical question what would have happened if Fort Sumter hadn't been attacked. Would the Union have eventually made the first move? Would peaceful negotiations have eventually resulted in some stronger guarantee in the continuance of slavery and an end to secession? Would the Union have eventually dissolved amicably?
- twright 4y agoI’m not sure your specific speculation is on the list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War_alternate_histories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War_alternate_h...
- saalweachter 4y agoWargaming political negotiations is far less popular than wargaming, well, wars. You might be able to have a little fun with the first option -- the Union attacks first -- but it's still going to largely end up political questions: 1. If the Union attacked immediately after South Carolina seceded, how would it have changed which States would follow suit? 2. If the Union attacked in 1862, would more States have seceded by then? 3. Would the Union have lost any supporters -- either notable generals or even member States -- if it had fired first? After those political questions are answered you could have fun wargaming out the subsequent war with new sides, but trying to answer the political questions is not as easy or fun.
- Dracophoenix 4y ago> It's an intriguing historical question what would have happened if Fort Sumter hadn't been attacked. Would the Union have eventually made the first move? Going by what happened during the Nullification Crisis, the answer is likely a "Yes".