Discuss the view that the main political cause of the American civil war was the leadership failings of a "blundering generation" It is felt by many that the main cause of the American civil war was the failings of politicians such as Stephen Douglas, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. They are considered to have made a series of political blunders, such as Douglas's handling of the Kansas - Nebraska Act and the way in which Buchanan alienated the North. However it could be said that this was not the root cause of the war, but rather the underlying problem of...
to prevent the two sides from going to war as it would appear that the slavery was at the root of all the problems. Although this problem was further antagonised by these blunders it is highly unlike these tensions could have been eased. To be fair each of the politicians had very delicate situations to deal with and no matter what they did it is more than likely that one side of the Union would have something to complain about. By the time Buchanan came into power the problems within the Union had reached the point of no return.