(from the bellyflop thread)
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Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
They didn't fire on Ft Sumter to protect slavery.
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Not directly, at least.
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The majority of the northern politicians were moderates that wanted to see the spread of slavery stemmed, but were willing to accept a 50/50 split on new states.
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The point of the 50/50 split was to prevent the "other side" from getting too much power in the Senate. The South was worried that if there were too many free states, there would be a federal ban on slavery. Or even an Amendment, as that too is based on state count.
- Acceptance of new states hinged on their position on slavery. That is a MAJOR issue. -
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The handful of abolitionists didn't have the power to put an end to slavery in all the new states, let alone the south.
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Right, the Civil War wasn't "to free the slaves". But slavery was at the base of most of the economic and cultural differences that caused the split between North and South. Claiming that slavery was a minor issue is as off-base as claiming that it was the only issue.