[lentulusgracchus]

So from the point of view of the north, it was a war to preserve the union. From the point of view of the south it was to preserve the institution of slavery, and for both north and south the prize was the American West.

I'm sorry, but you seem to have misunderstood something.

As some of us have pointed out repeatedly, the war was in fact an attempt by the Southern States to preserve their right to run their own affairs. They saw that Lincoln was bent on turning the Republic into a national empire, and they wanted out.

After all, it was Lincoln's Republicans who came up with the slogan "national greatness" in the days of William McKinley, the last President of the U.S. to have held a commission during the Civil War.

That greatness was built on the necks of the South and the West.

[marron]

Re-read the articles of secession. The prize was the American West.

[pissant]

You pulled that out of your arse, my friend