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ORIGINAL: Ct Dude
I have to disagree, to a point, with you on this one Frumius. Slavery was just one of the (although a major one ) issues involved in “States Rights”. The southern states felt that if they had the right to join the Union, well then they had the right to leave the Union if they wanted to leave.
Lincoln him self said that if he could end the war with out freeing a slave, he would, if he could stop it by freeing some of them and leaving others in slavery, he would do that also. Although it was an underlying issue with Mr Lincoln, restoring the Union was the most importent one to him.
So, although slavery pushed it over the edge, it was the believe that the States had the Right to live as they wanted to , with-in the framework of the Constitution, without others telling the how to do it. That the states where main government with in the state, with loose ties to the fed government. And you have to remember that slavery was legal at that time under the constitution
I have to disagree, also to a point. Slavery was THE issue. Without it there was no other issue causing the consideration of secession. You are correct in that the rationale was that they joined the Union voluntarily so therefore should have the option of leaving the Union. If I recall, that right of secession was included in the Constitution of the Confederate States of America. The South was afraid of being outvoted in the Senate if new territories were Free States so fought to have them Slave States. Pro-slavers went into Kansas along with abolitionists to “vote” for their particular side in Kansas & other states, and it led to a lot of violence, a pre-sage of fighting to come over the issue.
Lincoln did say that but the issue was never his to decide when South Carolina attacked Ft Sumter & announced its secession & brought along other slave states with it shortly after Lincoln’s election.
The War was really about States Right, singular, because it was all about 1 issue, slavery. The question then became whether States did have the right, Lincoln decided no.
Without slavery as the driver there was no other issue.
