Could November 2020 see the United States' first internal political war in its history? No, that's not true: If an internal war breaks out in the United States after the national elections in November, which some people are predicting, it would not be the first in history. The United States was divided in a four-year-long civil war starting in 1861 and ending in April 1865. Lead Stories is not examining the claim that there will be a post-election war, but we are reminding readers that if there is, it would not be the first in the nation's history.
The claim originated in a post shared on Facebook by Jacob Hince, who described himself as a portfolio director at a Chicago real estate investment firm, on Sept.16, 2020. (archived here) It opened:
I'm about 99.3% positive the month of November is going to be the USA's first internal political war of it's history. I don't see Trump losing whatsoever & I 100% don't see the other side of the isle accepting it.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Thu Sep 17 20:31:50 2020 UTC)
The post continued:
People think current events are getting pretty wild now with human trafficking/the pedo elites coming to light & being exposed (which seemingly nothing is coming of it somehow? Like where the hell is that maxwell lady even at anymore?) , the West on fire, "Covid pandemic", BLM, defund the police, riots/"peaceful protests", the media which may as well be considered satan at this point, deep state type BS/high political power junkies, & Biden somehow being the opposition, Iran contemplating assassinating Americans, the economy being propped up by temporary federal & state payments & eviction restrictions, social media censoring, other countries trying to meddle with elections, the list goes on and on.....
Like what in the F is going on? I feel like we're just getting started & November 3rd is the grand finale firework show
I actually don't see either party accepting defeat.
I have this weird feeling of ridiculous excitement & of utter horror. These doomsday people with their underground busses might be on to something
While there are disturbing signs that political chaos and domestic terrorism could follow the 2020 presidential election, it would not be the first time. The election of Abraham Lincoln 160 years earlier in November 1860 was followed by a movement by Southern states to secede from the Union. History.com says this:
The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states' rights and westward expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America; four more states soon joined them. The War Between the States, as the Civil War was also known, ended in Confederate surrender in 1865. The conflict was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and much of the South left in ruin.
