The American Civil War

[Happy Monkey]

(from the bellyflop thread)

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

They didn't fire on Ft Sumter to protect slavery.

Not directly, at least.

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.

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. -

The handful of abolitionists didn't have the power to put an end to slavery in all the new states, let alone the south.

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.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

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.

The economic differences were agricultural vs industrial which made them look at trade from an entirely different perspective and cultural differences were all over the ball park. There were plenty of southern farmers, eager to follow the stars and bars, that never owned a slave. In 1860, a male slave would bring thousands of dollars which made it a rich man's game.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

The economic differences were agricultural vs industrial

Both sides had plenty of small non-slaveholding farms. The economic differences were between the wealthy powerhouses- industrial vs plantation.

In 1860, a male slave would bring thousands of dollars which made it a rich man's game.

It wasn't the poor men making the 50/50 statehood deals. It wasn't the poor men who formed the CSA government.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I'll buy that.