
Originally Posted by
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Dude, why do you insist on being the biggest buzzkill of all eternity?
But seriously. Thats some dumb shit you just spewed out. I know you don't like me, I know people in this community don't like me, but to say stupid shit just to contradict me is stupid shit.
Not a historian, but taken from Reddit as a great answer to the question at hand:
"The single most important reason that the North went to war in 1861 is this: the South started it.
On December 31, 1836, South Carolina passed a law that stated, in part:
Resolved, That this state do cede to the United States, all the right, title and claim of South Carolina to the site of Fort Sumter and the requisite quantity of adjacent territory
Fort Sumter and other fortifications around Charleston Harbor were legally United States territory, regardless of the legality of South Carolina's secession. Anderson and his garrison had an absolute legal right to be there.
At the same time, it was intolerable to the Confederates that the Federal government retain a fort in the middle of one of the South's most important harbors. Confederate agents were sent to Washington to negotiate for the surrender of the fort, but Lincoln refused to meet with them because he did not recognize the Confederacy as a foreign power, and opening negotiations with representatives of the Confederate government would likely be considered a recognition of their legitimacy internationally.
At this point, both sides knew that war was basically inevitable. There was still some hope that there could be a negotiated settlement - Lincoln hoped that the sentiment for secession was not as widespread as it really was, and that some compromise could be reached that would bring the seceded states back into the government, while Davis hoped that Lincoln would back down and consent to the separation. There was essentially zero chance of either of those things happening, so both sides were trying to ensure that when the war started, they wouldn't be the one who started it.
Finally, Lincoln decided to resupply the fort - but only with provisions, not men, arms or ammunition. He notified the governor of South Carolina - his agents making it clear that it was merely a formal notification from the President to the Governor of one of the United States - a courtesy, not a negotiation. This put the ball in the Confederates' court.
They could allow the provisions to arrive, but that would extend the status quo, which was intolerable to the South, indefinitely. Or they could attack the fort, and take the blame for starting the war. They chose the latter. They didn't really have much choice.
For Northerners, this changed the equation. It was no longer a question of whether or not they should go to war to preserve the Union - they were at war now. The question was whether to surrender or accept the war that had already begun. Much like public opinion after Pearl Harbor, there was no longer any question that the country needed to go to war."
yours truly,
PC's resident nihilist