- Joined
- Jul 26, 2018
Because the alternative was worse. Lincoln tried to avoid war. He was also very clear that as president he was pledged to “protect and defend” the Constitution, which meant that he had to respond to the acts of war committed by some southern states starting even before he was inaugurated. I believe any president except the hapless Buchanan would have been obligated to do the same. Neither side expected the terrible health toll that ensued.
Keep in mind that the conflict was international as well as national. The United States was the primary democracy in the world. The war was, in part, a test to see if the “last best hope” for republican government could survive or if monarchies would prove to be the only feasible form of government. During the war, the elected government of Mexico was forcibly replaced by an emperor. Spain attempted to recolonize Santo Domingo to end its independence.
Gradually during the course of the war, which the Confederacy clearly stated they began in order to expand and protect slavery, ending slavery became one of the goals of the union. Shortly after the union victory, slavery in the Americas ended after centuries of existence. European countries gave up their colonies in the Americas. Government by the people was initiated in Spain and France and England took serious steps in that direction.
If a nation had been founded with the principle that slavery was a God-ordained benefit to slaveholder and the enslaved, if the primary democracy in the world had failed, the world would be a much darker place.
Keep in mind that the conflict was international as well as national. The United States was the primary democracy in the world. The war was, in part, a test to see if the “last best hope” for republican government could survive or if monarchies would prove to be the only feasible form of government. During the war, the elected government of Mexico was forcibly replaced by an emperor. Spain attempted to recolonize Santo Domingo to end its independence.
Gradually during the course of the war, which the Confederacy clearly stated they began in order to expand and protect slavery, ending slavery became one of the goals of the union. Shortly after the union victory, slavery in the Americas ended after centuries of existence. European countries gave up their colonies in the Americas. Government by the people was initiated in Spain and France and England took serious steps in that direction.
If a nation had been founded with the principle that slavery was a God-ordained benefit to slaveholder and the enslaved, if the primary democracy in the world had failed, the world would be a much darker place.