Re: Nonmilitary Secession

Jim McPherson2 (ATBDS@ASUACAD.BITNET)
Wed, 13 Apr 1994 16:18:54 ECT

It would seem to me that the original CSA in fact did attempt to opt
for a non-military secession. But even then both Sumter and Pickens posed
problems. Davis's decision to respond to Lincoln's attempt to replenish
Sumter was, after all, rather clever: he forced Lincoln to choose
between no response and a military response, and a military response
led to four more states joining the CSA, with several more tottering on
the verge of leaving (and had those states also left, Lincoln would have
found himself in a hell of a fix). Perhaps all of those people who have
contributed to the Longstreet debate might look to the failure of the
CSA to secure Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland as one of the first points
of decision.

Brooks D. Simpson ATBDS@ASUACAD
Department of History 602-965-5778
Arizona State University