Why speculate gandaltfb?
The Virginia secession convention provides plenty of detail as to the cause of the secession and the resulting war.
The DEMOCRATS initiated the secession AND the war because they wanted to SPREAD slavery.
The REPUBLICAN party was formed in direct opposition to Douglas (D) “Kansas-Nebraska” act. This act violated the Missouri compromise of 30 years prior that sought to limit slavery. It allowed both Kansas and Nebraska tertitories to become slave states by majority votes.
This ill considered law gave us ten bloody years in Kansas before the civil war.
DEMOCRAT fireeaters - led by the treasonous vice president John C Breckenridge were not content to keep their slaves. THEY WERE SEEKING TO EXPAND SLAVERY. They wanted to take their ‘property’ to every location they could settle.
SO DEMOCRATS SECEEDED AND THEN INITIATED HOSTILE ACTION.
On the other hand,
REPUBLICANS were adamantly opposed to slavery but were seeking to remove the institution in a peaceful manner.
President Lincoln sought one compromise after another to avoid the bloody civil war - up to and including the Corwin amendment.
So the REPUBLICAN and LINCOLNS initial purpose for fighiting was to ‘PRESERVE THE UNION’.
However, after much bloodshed, Lincoln expanded his goals to ENDING SLAVERY. The horrible consequences having already been thrust upon the nation by toxic, treasonous DEMOCRATS.
At the Virginia Secession convention - a near thing - speakers from the Seceeding States spoke to the convention to give their reasoning for their actions. Here are the words of the Georgia delegate to Virginia. The cause of the Civil War between Republicans and Democrats does not get any clearer than this.
First paragraph:
“I have been appointed by the Convention of the State of Georgia, to present to this Convention (Virginia), the ordinance of secession of Georgia,
and further, to invite Virginia, thorough this Convention, to join Georgie and the other seceded States in the formation of a Southern Confederacy.
This, sir, is the whole extent of my mission….”
Second paragraph:
”What was the reason that induced Georgia to take the step of secession?
This reason may be summed up in one single proposition.
It was a conviction, a deep conviction on the part of Georgia,
that a separation from the North was the only thing that could prevent the abolition of her slavery.
This conviction, sir, was the main cause.
It is true, sir, that the effect of this conviction was strengthened by a further conviction that such a separation would be the best remedy for the fugitive slave evil,
.... {Note: This ‘fugitive slave evil’
.... being the the refusal of some Republicans
.... in Northern States
.... to refuse to return escaped slaves}
and also the best, if not the only remedy, for the territorial evil.
.... {Note: This ‘territorial evil’
.... would be the Missouri compromise
.... from thirty or forty years prior
.... where the territories were declared free
.... and slaves were not allowed.
.... The democrats wished to take their slaves
.... with them.}
But, doubtless, if it had not been for the first conviction this step would never have been taken.
It therefore becomes important to inquire whether this conviction was well founded.”
………..Honorable Henry L. Benning, of Georgia
……………addressing the Virginia State Convention
……………on Monday, February 18, 1861
……………the Fifth day of the Convention
....
.... The second speaker from the other States after Mississippi.
And here we go again with the "secession" statements. First of all, only 3 or 4 states made any that suggested slavery was the cause. There were 11 states in the confederacy, but a lot of people want to make the 3 or 4 speak for the 11.
Secondly, Virginia, which you so conspicuously named, makes it clear that they seceded because the North was raising an army to invade their sister states to the South, and they believed this was absolutely contrary to the principles the nation was founded upon.
Thirdly, the reasons why the North invaded have nothing to do with this claim that the South seceded solely over the issue of slavery. You may be unaware of this, but slavery was legal in the Union, and would continue being legal in the Union had those Southern states not seceded.
Why did the Northern states invade? Because Lincoln fired them up with a pretext that Federal troops were attacked at Ft. Sumter. He completely left out the part about him sending warships to attack the confederates first, and since he was just locking up any newspaper editors that refused to run his propaganda, all the information the Northern people had was that the Union had been attacked. Lincoln was controlling the "news" media at that point.
He also left out the part about his government consistently telling the people of South Carolina that fort Sumter would be evacuated, so by the time the warships arrived, nobody there believed anything Lincoln said about his motives or intents.