In this introductory lecture, Professor Jay Winik traces what led America into the grip of Civil War, and begins a series on how the nation survived. Citing examples of how the United States was inherently vulnerable to secessionist impulses from the beginning, we come to see how slavery was an issue that was cast aside in order to preserve a young nation, and how it smoldered within the culture into the fires of war. In showing us the seeds of the conflict, Winik effectively argues that due to America's vast geographic and social differences, bloodshed may have been inevitable.