re: Worst Historical Disaster — Civil War or Second Great Awakening?

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People say this but we still love cheap labor.

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My point is - slaves weren't all that cheap, even in the 1850s.

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Using slaves for agriculture would have not been profitable after a while but factories?

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We're not talking about getting illegal immigrants to come work for pennies on the dollar. We're talking about supporting an entire community, of whom, maybe 60% are working. And not just while you have them on duty - 24/7/365. You had to provide (however rudimentary) medical and dental care, food, clothing, shelter, the whole megillah, for your entire slave population. Now, a lot of these small holdings, they didn't have that with 3 to 5 slaves. But, the larger holdings had to have a significant portion of the slave labor dedicated to maintaining the slave labor.

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And I guess my point is that SOME KIND of abolitionist movement would have had to happen.

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Certainly, but it didn't have to be a violent one. Slavery could have been ended (IMHO) in a more slow motion, methodical way. It would have been little solace to those who would have endured slavery for potentially decades later, but it would have been better for the nation if the transition had been handled that way, with periods of time for transition and adjustment.