Originally Posted by
Oneuli
Slavery was, by far, the biggest issue. Basically, it came down to whether or not slavery would be allowed to be expanded into new territories. The abolitionists hated slavery, but, in the interests of preserving the union, were willing to live with a compromise under which slavery was allowed to continue where it was, but couldn't be expanded to new territories. The confederates, however, would not compromise. For a while, the Union held together, because the pro-slavery factions held the presidency, with Democrats Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. As long as they were winning, they stuck around. Then they lost, though, when Lincoln was elected and so they decided to try to murder some of our troops at Fort Sumter, and the war was on.
Although the confederates made it very clear it was about slavery at the time, after their defeat the "Lost Cause" myth was built up, insisting it was about something else. Generally, it was states rights they talked about. Of course, that was bullshit. The pro-slavery people were happy to stomp all over states rights in the interests of slave-owners. For example, they wanted the slave status of fugitives from the south to stick with them, such that it overrode state law in the free states. They were quite happy when judges on the Supreme Court ruled to that effect, notwithstanding the fact it undermined the sovereignty of the free states and constituted a huge federal infringement. Further invalidating the states-rights argument about the war was the fact the Confederacy was quicker than the Union to embrace big-government interventions in the war effort, like a draft and central government controls on the economy. Again, so long as it was in furtherance of the interests of slave owners, states rights could be dispensed with.
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