[r9etb]

Slavery was a minor issue in the Civil War.

Next I suppose you'll be telling us that Islam is a religion of peace.

Let us suppose that slavery was indeed a minor issue in the civil war. Why did the South secede, then? (And why did slavery figure so prominently in those wily Southerners' Declarations of Secession?)

[El Sordo]

There were many reasons; tariffs that punished southern industry in favor of northern industry, sovereignty issues, dandy stuff like that. Such issues took up far more room in their declarations than slavery.

Ref:

http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/reasons.html
http://ngeorgia.com/history/wh y.html

[editor-surveyor]

"Why did the South secede, then?"

Taxes !!

The southern states were paying 90% of the taxes, and had 10% of the population, thus no hope of correcting the problem.

[SeeSharp]

And why did slavery figure so prominently in those wily Southerners' Declarations of Secession?

What was featured in South Carolina's declaration was not slavery but the failure of the north to enforce the provision in the Constitution requiring the return of fugitive slaves. In other words, we didn't break the compact, you did.