Remember that just before Sumter, all three branches of the Federal government, and two Presidents endorsed slavery.
“You should re read the documents for yourself and find out.”
If by documents you are referring to the various Articles of Secession, I have read them all, multiple times. Many of them really don’t give any reason, but of the ones that do (that would be South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, and Florida) all list slavery, or slavery related issues, as the reason they were seceding. They dress them up by complaining that the Northern States are not doing their duty under the Constitution, but the Constitutional duty they are complaining about is the failure to return escaped slaves.
I find your characterization of these as “ghost” documents very interesting. Are you saying that these documents do not exist? Because they do. They were published by the states in question as their defense of the Secession. As far as the entirely laughable contention that they were done by some disgruntled employee who high-jacked a state printing press (and, I presume then distributed these documents all on his own) I have to ask. Why didn’t the States publish retractions? I mean, if this “Lone Printer” (all right, 5 “Lone Printers” – 1 for each state) was publishing wrong information under the imprimatur of the states, wouldn’t they want to set the record straight?
“Remember that just before Sumter, all three branches of the Federal government, and two Presidents endorsed slavery.”
I was not aware that, at any time in our history we had 2 sitting presidents. I mean, we have presidents elect, who are not really presidents and, in any case, while Buchanan would certainly endorse slavery, I can’t see Lincoln doing it. I really don’t think that the Judiciary is in the process of endorsing item, they merely rule on the constitutionality of efforts. So, when did a majority of the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and TWO presidents endorse slavery?
However, this is drifting far afield from my original contention, which is the South seceded due to Slavery as proved by the corporeal Articles of Secession voted on, approve, and printed for posterity by the legislatures of 5 different states. Whether or not the all three branches of the federal government and two (TWO) sitting presidents “endorsed” it or not is immaterial, ah they weren’t the ones doing the Seceding. You also have to remember that the North did not fight the Civil War due to Slavery, only the South did. The North fought to maintain the Union, and also because Confederate forces started the shooting portion of the war by staging an unprovoked attack against the United States forces at Fort Sumter.