It was the pressure of morality on the slave power that led them to seek to insulate themselves from morality by insurrection.
Stephen’s ‘Cornerstone’ speech is seen as the reaction of the slave power to moral persuasion.
They were not going to get rid of slavery without a fight, and not going to permit anyone to get rid of slavery without a fight.
And so they started a fight. Virginia’s deal was they wouldn’t pretend to secession unless a fight had started, and so it was necessary for the slave power to get a war started. So rather than wait, they started it themselves.
And then the slave power lost the war. 600,000+ deaths of the war are evil, and the guilt belongs to the people who started the war.
Ah, but there is no escape from morality. The relationship between law and morality is intimate. The current battle with abortion is identical in many respects to the battle with slavery, except that abortion is not localized in the south. Would there be a war if it was?
The parallels are amazing right up to dred Scott and roe v wade. An industry thrives on it.
You have either to go to war or say that the civil war should not have happened.