Question 1
The American Civil War was fought between the North and the South between 1850 and 1860. One of the main sources of contention was slavery. The Civil War was a ‘needless’ conflict because it happened due to the rise to power of the ‘blundering’ generation of politicians. The blundering generation comprised of leaders who had feelings of self-entitlement, self-righteousness and party bile. These leaders could not sacrifice but maintained strong positions on the issue of slavery. They took advantage of the tensions and sectoral divides already present in the American society and pushed for the war (Tindall and Shi, 2013).

Question 2
There was a possibility of peaceful separation between the North and the South. This would have happened if the persons who pushed for the war had not clouded their decision making with their interests. The parties would have listened to one another and created a compromise position that would satisfy the interests of both sides (Kennedy, Cohen and Piehl 2012).

Question 3
The North and the South had to reconcile their political, economic and social differences in order for a “perpetual union” to be sustainable. On economy, the North and the South needed to reconcile how they construct their economic systems and fundamentals. This is because the Northern side relied on industrialization while the Southern side relied on agriculture.
On politics, the South needed to be more responsive and open to the ideals of the Republican Party. On the social front, the North and the South had to allow for equal rights for all persons irrespective of their age, color, level of education and religion.

Question 4
If the Independent Confederate States had lasted and the issue of slavery not changed, then there it is likely that there would have been an uprising in the Confederate States. People were being educated and becoming more aware of their rights meaning that the slaves would have not withstood mistreatment for long.