I have heard this debated for decades about if the South, North, Western Civilization, or the planet would have been better off if the South was able to establish a permanent government or not. I have heard all sorts of opinion as to what would have happened or not. The fact is we have no idea. There may or may not have been a war with Spain, there may have been a war with Mexico due to bandit problems, or not. It is unlikely that a northern U.S. would have been involved in either of these situations. Would the northern U.S. and the C.S.A., either one, have been involved in WWI? If England and France had openly supported the C.S.A. during the war, maybe the South would have felt obligated to them during WWI? If there had been peaceful secession, who knows if the northern U.S. or the C.S.A. would have gotten involved? What about U.S. and C.S. involvement with Japan? Who can say if either would have any interest in the western Pacific? After all, the reason for our presence there is due to Spain giving the Philippines to the U.S. as a war concession. If we had not had a presence there, and therefore not a concern of the Japanese, they would not have attacked us. Also, remember that Germany and later Italy declared war in the U.S. a few days after the Japs attacked us (arguably the dumbest thing Hitler did militarily during the entire war). Again, if there had been a separate U.S. and C.S., would either North or South been involved in a second European war? It is a possibility that there may not have even been a second European war if there had been a divided U.S. and C.S. before WWI - if the first war had ended in a stalemate. WWII in Europe being a direct result of the outcome of WWI, enabling Hitler to come to power. Then would there have been the rise of Russia/Soviet Union? What about the exploration of space which was a direct result of the arms race and political competition between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. which former German scientists contributed greatly? If there had not been the Jewish Holocaust committed by the Nazis, would the nation of Israel now exist - this being a major factor in current Mid-East politics? The results of the political issue disputes of the U.S. in 1860 affected the history of the planet in unfathomable ways that no one can imagine then or now. I am a supporter of the principles of self government, state's rights, as the founders intended. No one knows for sure what will be the future ramifications of our actions. We can only do what we believe to be the right course of action under the current circumstances. We can legitimately play "woulda, coulda, shoulda" forever because no one has yet invented a crystal ball. All we know for sure is what did happen. Maybe it was good, maybe not, maybe somewhere in between. Hopefully, we can learn from the past if we look at it honestly, so we can make wise decisions for the future. We have no power to change the past, but we can learn from it. Ignoring certain truths because they do not fit your particular agenda is nothing but intellectually corrupt.
