I listen to a history podcast run by two popular British historians. They're in the midst of a four-parter on the American civil war, with a leading (British) historian of the subject as a guest.

The question that seems to have stumped all three of them is why, after the confederacy announce they're leaving, the North decide to take up arms to force them to stay rather than just letting them go off on their way, presumably to collapse economically in a decade or two and either petition to rejoin or be mopped up then. What is your understanding of why this happened?

I'm not doing full justice to what they say, which can be found here: https://play.acast.com/s/the-rest-is-history-podcast