Lincoln said he was going to withdraw troops from Fort Sumpter. Instead he sent reinforcements and supplies. The south fired first because they weren't idiots.
And if they hadn't fired first, would the union troops have packed up their supplies and munitions and shipped out on their warships? Because that's the only situation in which it would have been a trap. It was an act of war.
The fort wasn't going to effect anything. The south could have left it alone. Lincoln resupplied after the south said to leave it. It was a staring contest and the North won it. Lincoln wanted them to be fired upon, and the South wanted to be seen as just defending their home. Instead the South looked like the aggressors and Lincoln used that.
The south could've left it alone? That's insane. It's just as insane as expecting Russia not to react to an expansion of NATO. The south had seceded, so the union had no right to maintain military presence.
You're intentionally dodging the question of what Lincoln was going to do with those reinforced, resupplied troops.
Lincoln said he was going to withdraw troops from Fort Sumpter. Instead he sent reinforcements and supplies. The south fired first because they weren't idiots.
Yeah that's the trap. Who would fire first.
And if they hadn't fired first, would the union troops have packed up their supplies and munitions and shipped out on their warships? Because that's the only situation in which it would have been a trap. It was an act of war.
The fort wasn't going to effect anything. The south could have left it alone. Lincoln resupplied after the south said to leave it. It was a staring contest and the North won it. Lincoln wanted them to be fired upon, and the South wanted to be seen as just defending their home. Instead the South looked like the aggressors and Lincoln used that.
The south could've left it alone? That's insane. It's just as insane as expecting Russia not to react to an expansion of NATO. The south had seceded, so the union had no right to maintain military presence.
You're intentionally dodging the question of what Lincoln was going to do with those reinforced, resupplied troops.