alternatehistory.com

Some historians contend that the victory of the Confederate States in the War for Southern Independence was inevitable, and that the Union never had a chance of successfully defeating the forces of secession. Others point to the North's large advantages in numbers and economic power at the start of the war as signs that the South could indeed have been beaten. What does the board think?

1. No, the South could not have lost. Being on the defensive, changes in military technology, its excellent officer corps, its far superior cavalry, and its geographic advantages made its victory inevitable.

2. Possibly, the South might have lost. But it would have required the South's military and political leadership doing something monumentally stupid.

3. Yes, the South could have been beaten. The North could have easily won the war had they not been so stupid, even with all the South's advantages.
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