Presented by Dr. Allen C. Guelzo
What made Southerners think that seceding from the Union in 1861 would be the solution to their problems? Couldn't they just all get along: or had the cultural and legal differences between North and South become so irreconcilable that a split was not only less painful, but even necessary? Or is it the case (as Lincoln argued) that in a democracy, secession is just another word for anarchy? And that a war to prevent secession was the only way to keep the dream of democracy alive in a world which was slipping back into the grasp of kings, emperors and dictators?
Dr. Allen C. Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era and Director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College.
