Not really, the war began because the South demanded States’ rights and were not getting them. Slavery was part of it but not the cause of it.
Keeping the slaves was a key factor for the southern economy and the defining right that they desperately needed to run large plantations in a pre-industrial era.
Yes, we would be a better country to live in if states’ abilities to self-govern were not lost in that conflict.
Don’t try to school me on this, I ain’t no Damn Yankee, I went to Jefferson Davis Jr. High, way back when. Do the math.
Here’s a thought experiment...
If the colonies had not revolted in 1776, slavery would have ended by act of Parliament in 1833, when it did for all of the British Empire. Would The South have been forced to revolt at that point? The perception was they could not survive without slave labor. What other choice could they see? How long would The South be able to fight the not just the north, but the entire British Empire?
What would The South look like today after that?
Really? You are gonna start this argument on a football thread? Give it up.