What Does History Say Will Happen If America Enters A Civil War?

In the past few months, I have seen countless pundits claiming we are on the verge of another American Civil War. When I look through polls of Conservatives and Liberals, I also get that same shallow impression of a looming civil war. People seem to have a misunderstanding of what a civil war really is. Those with a lack of historical knowledge seem to think that this "coming civil war" will not lead to mass casualties and will not fundamentally change American society. Politicians also seem to think that if we just pass the right laws we can stop it. I think the best way to assess what will actually happen in a Civil War is to look at past Civil Wars in other countries.<br><br>Let's begin with a Civil War that had similar conditions that the coming conflict in America is expected to have, namely Syria. <br><br>The Syrian Civil War is a multisided conflict between the government of Syria and many other factions. The government of Syria is a dictatorship that, as of late, has been getting heavy Russian backing. The other side is comprised of many different groups like ISIS, the rebels, and the YPG. As of the end of 2021, the Syrian Civil War has claimed the lives of over 500,000 Syrians and displaced roughly 7 million. In comparison, 620,000 Americans died in the Civil War. So we already see a grim picture of what a Civil War can do to a country. We see that it can destroy the infrastructure of a nation, displace millions, and rapidly change the political landscape. Now let's compare this to the American Civil War (ACW). The ACW was a conflict between the Union (theNorthern states) and the Confederacy (the Southern states). Like the Syrian Civil War, the ACW was caused by hostile opposing political beliefs. However, the ACW was a conflict between two organized nation-states rather than a conflict between a nation-state and numerous other factions. In the end, the Union won and the Confederacy was dissolved and incorporated into the United States. The ACW claimed the lives of 620,000 to 750,000 Americans. Now the question remains, if America enters a Civil War who would win and how destructive would it be? There is no way we could truly know who would win or how destructive it would be, as there are so many factors involved in such an event. Is it possible that we could have a "civil war" like the one in Iraq where we have relatively small skirmishes between different factions, or would we have an all out war like in Syria or America?