rockrr:"The southern slave owners thought differently."
DiogenesLamp: "And we know this because countless northern history writers keep telling us this, even though it doesn't make any real sense when you look at the facts."
It's complete nonsense to claim the Deep South seceded for any major reason other than protecting slavery.
Slavery is what they said at the time and any other reasons listed are clearly secondary, clearly just "politics as usual", nothing powerful enough to motivate millions of otherwise loyal Americans to declare secession.
Only slavery could do that, and so that is what Fire Eater leaders emphasized, regardless of what else might be their hidden "real reasons".
It’s complete nonsense to claim the Deep South seceded for any major reason other than protecting slavery.
Slavery is what they said at the time and any other reasons listed are clearly secondary, clearly just “politics as usual”, nothing powerful enough to motivate millions of otherwise loyal Americans to declare secession.
Only slavery could do that, and so that is what Fire Eater leaders emphasized, regardless of what else might be their hidden “real reasons”.
Its complete nonsense to claim they seceded to protect slavery when slavery was not threatened in the US. They were happy to cite the fact that the Northern states violated the compact by refusing to enforce the fugitive slave clause of the constitution, but their real concern - like people always - was money. The tariff and unequal federal expenditures touched every person’s wallet in the Southern states be they the small minority who owned slaves or the large majority who did not.