Hi there. I was just wondering whether the blundering generation thesis about the civil war boils down to a belief that individual choices caused the war. I wrote in my notes that it is linked to the belief that the civil war was inevitable but that doesn't seem right. Any clarification would be helpful. Thanks!
I'm not familiar with the "blundering generation" theory. Certainly Pres. Buchanan was a blunderer and attempts to dampen furor over the expansion of slavery contributed. The cause of the Civil War was simply that Northern abolitionists opposed slavery and the South (or the political power base in the South) wanted it preserved. The two positions could not be reconciled, or so the South believed, so they seceded. It's impossible to say whether it was inevitable. The eventual abolition of slavery was inevitable, the South saw it coming, and reacted.
Rissa, keep checking here over the next hour or two. Other tutors may have ideas, too.
Ok thank you very much.
A further thought.
The attempts to reconcile "free" and "slave" states did not work, obviously. Were they "blunders?" I think that's the wrong word. They were sincere attempts to reconcile opposing positions, but the positions were irreconcilable. The South clung tenaciously to slavery on the big plantations (most Southerners did not own slaves) because their economy was based on slavery, and they did believe people of African descent were inferior, or wanted to believe so. The Civil War was, perhaps, not inevitable at the time it took place. Even Mr. Lincoln never proposed the abolition of slavery in states where it existed prior to or even immediately after his election, but the South could see the "writing on the wall" that slavery was unsustainable, so reacted by clinging to their old ideas and claiming they were sacred (to them at least).
Check this site.
https://swem.wm.edu/exhibits/irrepressible-conflict-or-blundering-generation-coming-civil-war