“Anyone who sits down for a moment to think about what the alternative would have looked like—a successful breakaway Confederacy—and how that would have flowed downstream has to be with impressed with what Lincoln was able to save us from. There is in the end no intrinsic reason why the Southern Confederacy should not have achieved its independence. And if they had, that would have had serious implications for the later role the North American continent plays in world affairs. Imagine a North American continent as divided politically and economically as South America. This would take the United States off the table as a major world player, and then what would you do with the history of the 20th century?”

— Allen C. Guelzo

2010s, Interview with Tom Mackaman (2013)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Allen C. Guelzo 82

American historian 1953

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Allen C. Guelzo 82

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