General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: How long would slavery had lasted if the South decided NOT to secede? [View all]exboyfil
(17,862 posts)north support the Fugitive Slave Act. Having a long continuous border in which your property could cross would have made it difficult to keep going economically. How long would Taney and his ilk run the Supreme Court?
1860 was a unique election year that may have not been repeated. Without the power of the executive branch (lets say more feckless presidents like Pierce and Buchanan) slavery could have gone on a long time. If your major churches are promoting it in the South, you are not going to see any sort of moral groundswell for change.
Would Lincoln have made it more difficult for the south to operate economically (thus driving them towards secession anyway?)? The South had been ready to go out since the 1840s with South Carolina leading the charge on tariffs.