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I sometimes wonder about this one. The 1860 election was the pivotal trigger of the Civil War. The election of Lincoln resulted in the Southern Secession, and a story we all know too well follows thereafter.

History also makes much of the whole "Stephen Douglas recognized that Lincoln was going to win the Election, so he went south to try to keep the union together." What instead if he decides to sacrifice his own presidential bid to John Bell, the Southern Unionist Candidate, and they form a coalition ticket?

This means that John Breckinridge and Abraham Lincoln emerge as party leaders for regional parties, while Bell-Douglas essentially have a mandate to try to avoid the civil war.

But I doubt that the compromise government can really solve the slavery question, and that the moderates in the south and the north would be polarized--More John Brown like terrorism? A slave revolt? Supreme Court Nominations causing public outcry?

I'm curious--can Bell-Douglas even last until 1864, or would the United States break down the middle in the midst of their term? Would Bell/Douglas negotiate a deal on secession? Or would the South force them into a war?
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