Restricted If Stephen Douglas had been elected president, would have there been a Civil War?

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Forum Host
Joined
Aug 25, 2012
The first question would be, if Douglas was elected president would the South have seceded? The fact that many Southerners walked out of the Democratic convention in Charleston in 1860, I think the answer is yes. Stephen Douglas was a moderate on slavery and pushed poplar sovereignty for the US territories. I doubt this would have satisfied the fire eaters at all. Letting territories decide on if they wanted to have slavery was probably a non starter.

The next question is how would have a president Douglas have reacted to secession? If he had let the Southern states go, would he have still supported slavery in the US territories? We can assume the once Douglas died in 1861 a Herschel V. Johnson as president would have been pro South. I have some doubts that Herschel Johnson would have become president as he most likely would have resigned as vice president when Georgia seceded.
 
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