I thought that Lincoln and others thought that the whole idea of states wanting to separate from the Union was unthinkable. True the south was getting a better price on cotton from the Brits but I doubt that would have been reason alone to go to war.
"True the south was getting a better price on cotton from the Brits but I doubt that would have been reason alone to go to war."
I think the key is tariffs. The North tried to legislate economics. The South would have none of it. The South saw sucession as a legitimate, viable option.
That would be enough to generate a war.