Thanks so much to my new friends at the Civil War Forum of Metropolitan New York, who invited me to speak at the monthly meeting last Wednesday evening at the Roger Smith Hotel on Lexington Avenue. It was terrific to meet so many people who were so well-read and so insightful 
about the Civil War. The topic of my remarks was “Was the Civil War Inevitable?”, and my conclusion was that in fact, there were eight key moments between the fall of 1859 and January 1861 when, had things broken differently, the Civil War as we know it might have not have happened. (For those who are curious as to what those eight moments were, please listen to the podcast, which can be found here; but if you can’t wait, here is a clue: the eight moments involve David Gue, Issac Green, Stephen Douglas, Howell Cobb, James Hammond, John Crittenden, John McGowan, and Joe Brown. Gee, I hope I haven’t given everything away.) In the meantime, thanks once again to one and all, especially Charlie Schwarz and Jackie Eberstein, above, presenting me with a lovely certificate of appreciation.
