[stand watie]

actually, slavery was NEVER the "central issue" OR even a "major issue" in the causes of the war, except in the minds of the 5-6% of the population, NORTH & SOUTH, that OWNED slaves. slave-owners were INTENSELY concerned about their "ill-gotten gains" from the "trade in FLESH".

FEW other people, ANYWHERE, cared at all about slavery and/or "the plight of the slaves". they SHOULD have;they did NOT! (fwiw, anybody who says that slavery was "the issue" or even ""the major issue" is IGNORANT,a DUNCE, a NITWIT & possibly a HATER.)

in 1860, you couldn't have found a THOUSAND people ANYWHERE,who would have gone to war and KILLED a MILLION Americans. (fwiw, MANY THOUSANDS of the WAR-DEAD were slaves! they were only FREED from being ALIVE, by the very same DAMNyankee soldiers who came south "to free them"!)over slavery, UNLESS they ACTUALLY owned a slave/slaves! FACT.

free dixie,sw

[fortheDeclaration]

Slavery was the issue, whether or not it was going to be allowed to expand into the new terrorites.

Both Jeff Davis and A.H. Stephens admitted as much.

But what did they know compared to you?

[fortheDeclaration]

in 1860, you couldn't have found a THOUSAND people ANYWHERE,who would have gone to war and KILLED a MILLION Americans. (fwiw, MANY THOUSANDS of the WAR-DEAD were slaves! they were only FREED from being ALIVE, by the very same DAMNyankee soldiers who came south "to free them"!)over slavery

No, but the Southern leadership would go to war to keep slavery alive and that meant expansion.

No one foresaw how long and bloody the war was going to be.

But according to Jeff Davis, the South stood to lose alot of money if slavery was limited and that was why the South was willing to rish secession.

Thus, slavery is the central issue of the Civil War, on whether or not it was going to be allowed to expand and live or be contained and die.