The Needless Conflict- An analysis of an article by Allan Nevins, on the Civil War.

It would have been possible for America to avoid an "unnecessary war" if James Buchanan had been a stauncher executive. There were other insufficient leaders prior to his presidency, but Buchanan was the weakest, and failed in avoiding a civil war. He was indecisive and a compromiser, unwilling to choose a side or express opinions. His presidential aspirations consisted of getting through the national crisis and leaving the dirty work for his successor. In Allan …

…a man so pliable" that would "palter with a clean-cut and momentous issue". Just as "Uncle Tom's Cabin" had inspired abolitionists and Northerners, Buchanan's indecisiveness had excited the Southerners and the proslaveryites. Had Buchanan acted sooner he could have "grappled with disunion when it was yet weak and unprepared". Though the south lost the fight for slavery in Kansas, they gained strength and boldness, thanks in large part to the indecisive procrastinator, President James Buchanan