[groanup]

U.S. Grant's memoirs where he concludes after long and careful consideration that the cause of the war was in fact slavery.

There is no historical record of any kind that shows that the North went to war to rid the US of slavery. The North went to war to preserve the Union. The South, OTOH, was content to withdraw from the Union and go its own way. Ft. Sumpter was probably the biggest boner of the Confederacy. Had it not occurred..., well I can't really say that war wouldn't have happened since Lincoln had a war plan drawn up.

[contemplator]

There is no historical record of any kind that shows that the North went to war to rid the US of slavery. The North went to war to preserve the Union. The South, OTOH, was content to withdraw from the Union and go its own way.

Yes, if the North hadn't actually tried to preserve the Union there would have been no war. That's a twisted approach though. It's kind of like saying that it's the fault of the police that the prisons are full. If they'd just look the other way everything would be fine. That's usually a liberal's warped way of viewing the world.