So that's what the South meant when they said they were trying to preserve the Constitution?
Lincoln didn’t fight the war to end slavery. If you had clue one you’d understand that.
No, he fought it to preserve the Union and because war was the path that Jefferson Davis chose. The question really is why the South chose armed rebellion in the first place and defense of their institution of slavery was by far the most important reason for their decision.
‘No, he fought it to preserve the Union and because war was the path that Jefferson Davis chose. The question really is why the South chose armed rebellion in the first place and defense of their institution of slavery was by far the most important reason for their decision.’
A quote attributed to Longstreet comes to mind;
‘We should have freed all the slaves, THEN fired on Ft Sumnter.’
Had they done so, I think America today would likely resemble Europe, with a half dozen ‘countries’.
No doubt the first states to secede chose rebellion for that reason. But the remainder seceded once they saw the Union's reaction; once they realized they were living under tyranny.
“No, he fought it to preserve the Union and because war was the path that Jefferson Davis chose. “
South Carolina fired on Sumter - a fort in their territory that would not stand down and was a direct threat (kind of like Iraq, in that way), but the other Southern states didn’t.
Virginia didn’t secede until Lincoln ordered them to attack the states further south.
Elements of both sides wanted a war.