> Re the Civil War & the birth of the Republican Party:
>
> The nation had been two nations from the very beginning but the balance
> of forces had been such that neither nation gained by pushing the
> conflict to a resolution. The disturbances generated by the (very tiny)
> abolitionist movement,particularly as it reached a climax in John Brown,
> forced that confronntation by provokidng the Planters.
>
Just as a point of information: The Republican Party was formed several years before John Brown's raid, and was already very close to being the majority party in the North.
Of course, I'm not contesting that the raid contributed to the tensions that led to the secession crisis the next year.
SA