[R. Scott]

BTW, if slavery was the issue, why did Lincoln wait two years to sign the Emancipation Proclamation (which did not free a single slave)?

Because it was a great propaganda move. It created a situation where if any European countries recognized the Confederacy it would be viewed as defacto support of slavery.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yea, I knew it was propaganda. The Emancipation Proclamation only "freed" slaves in the south while ignoring the slavery that existed in Maryland.

[Daveinyork]

My take on the whole issue of the Civil War is that the North was fighting to preserve the Union. The South was fighting to preserve its way of life, of which an important component was the institution of slavery.