Episode Details

Was the American Civil War inevitable—or did the United States have another path?

On this episode of The Joe Rooz Show, Joe sits down with author, attorney, historian, and professor C. Evan Stewart for a fascinating reexamination of the months between Abraham Lincoln's election and the outbreak of the Civil War.

Stewart's latest book, William Henry Seward's Quest to Save the Nation During the Secession Winter, challenges the familiar historical narrative surrounding the crisis of 1860–1861.

While President-elect Abraham Lincoln remained publicly silent in Springfield, Illinois, William Henry Seward—the former New York governor, U.S. senator, Republican Party leader, and Lincoln's future Secretary of State—went to Washington and began working to keep the Union together.

According to Stewart, those efforts weren't merely theoretical.

During the Secession Winter, key Upper South states including Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas initially resisted secession. Virginia itself voted approximately two-to-one against secession in February 1861.

So what changed?

Joe and C. Evan Stewart explore Seward's attempts to strengthen Southern Unionists, the political struggle surrounding Fort Sumter, Lincoln's decision to attempt to resupply the fort, the possibility of compromise, and Stewart's argument that the Civil War should not be viewed as historically inevitable.

The conversation also goes beyond Lincoln and Seward to examine how history itself gets written.

Why do we remember the winners while other consequential figures disappear? How much do political beliefs influence historians? Can we fairly judge decisions made in 1860 when we already know what happened in 1861? And what happens when history becomes a morality play rather than an examination of evidence?

Stewart also discusses slavery, emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, Woodrow Wilson, America's long struggle over civil rights, and why ending the Civil War did not immediately resolve the profound racial injustices that followed.

In this conversation:

• William Henry Seward's forgotten role during the Secession Winter
 • Abraham Lincoln's public silence before his inauguration
 • Why Seward believed the Upper South could remain in the Union
 • Virginia's initial vote against secession
 • Fort Sumter and Lincoln's decision to send resupply ships
 • Whether war could have been avoided
 • Why Stewart rejects the idea that the Civil War was inevitable
 • Slavery, emancipation, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow
 • How historians create—and challenge—accepted narratives
 • Why understanding history requires looking at decisions without the benefit of hindsight

C. Evan Stewart is a retired senior partner at an international law firm, visiting professor at Cornell University, adjunct professor at Fordham Law School, longtime legal columnist, and author of multiple books examining American legal and political history.

William Henry Seward's Quest to Save the Nation During the Secession Winter (November 1860–April 1861): https://www.cevanstewartauthor.com/william-henry-seward

Learn more about C. Evan Stewart and his books at: https://www.cevanstewartauthor.com/

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Do you believe the Civil War was inevitable?

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