Could the Civil War Have Been Avoided?
Quick Answer
The Civil War was a complex conflict stemming from myriad causes including slavery, trade, and federal structure, and as such it is a matter of opinion as to whether or not it was preventable. Many forces were in play at the war's outset and at the time many outcomes seemed possible.
Continue ReadingFull Answer
Efforts to end slavery were well underway during the events that led up to the Civil War. Slave rebellions had spread like wildfire around the slave-owning Western world while abolitionists crusaded against its continuation and freedom fighters like Harriet Tubman struggled to ferry slaves to safety along the Underground Railroad.
Determining whether or not a war was preventable is a practical impossibility. Speculation is the only tool available, no matter how informed. That there was considerable resistance to the war is undeniable, but equally undeniable is that the season of war prevailed and the fight was eventually waged.
Had a non-violent solution to the problem of slavery's gross injustices succeeded in freeing the slaves, war might have been delayed or prevented. The North and the South might also have avoided combat if President Lincoln had been removed from power, or if he had not been elected, though what course history would have taken otherwise is impossible to say.
Learn more about US HistoryRelated Questions
-
Q:
Why Did the American Civil War Start?
A: Many factors contributed to the beginning of the Civil War, most notably the divisive issue of whether or not slavery would be allowed in the territories o... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
American History 101: When Was the Civil War?
A: The American Civil War spanned from April 1861 to May 1865 and was the result of a longer conflict regarding slavery in the United States. Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
American History 101: Who Won the Civil War?
A: The Civil War was a conflict between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America between 1861 and 1865. The conflict centered on the... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
What Was the Cause of the Civil War?
A: Some of the major causes of the Civil War were state rights and differences in the social and economical structure between the North and South. Slavery fit... Full Answer >Filed Under:
You May Also Like
-
Q:
Where Do You Find a Birth Certificate for President Barack Obama?
-
Q:
Who Assassinated MLK in 1968 and Why?
-
Q:
Why Did the Framers of the U.S. Constitution Choose Federalism?
-
Q:
What Are the Functions of the Hopi Government?
-
Q:
What Colony Was Founded by John Locke?
-
Q:
What Was a Racially Motivated Incident in the 1960s?
