So what was it that the South imported in such quantities, and what could they only get from Europe?
That’s when the South seceded, setting up a new government. Their constitution was nearly identical to the US. Constitution except that it outlawed protectionist tariffs, business handouts and mandated a two-thirds majority vote for all spending measures.
That didn't stop the confederacy from passing a tariff that was protectionist in nature, or from ignoring their constitution in other areas whenever it was convenient.
By destroying the states’ right to secession, Abraham Lincoln opened the door to the kind of unconstrained, despotic, arrogant government we have today, something the framers of the Constitution could not have possibly imagined.
Utter nonsense.
As a Southerner, I believe the War ended as it was supposed to, by God's will. But I will NEVER believe that the war was fought over what we were indoctrinated to believe that it was. There is just too much contradictory evidence.
I believe in our current government politicians (D as well as R) less now than I ever have. I will believe in it less, if that's possible, if Hillary or Obama get elected. What makes you think I believe in Lincoln's government, or the government's that followed that have propagated this view? People still hate Southerners for having the audacity to try to leave this nation. I dare to say, given the option, many would do so again. To stand or fall on our own.
That is the American way.