A common misconception is that the Civil War was fought over slavery. The
correct way to interpret this is that the Civil War was based on states’ rights, which
slavery manifested in. Slavery played a huge role in the disagreement between the
northern and the southern states. Neither group wanted the other group’s lifestyle to
continue in the new states as they did not want the other group to be more successful and
then gain more power. I think the approach of Abraham Lincoln’s ideas played a large
role in the apprehension of the southern states. While he was content with letting the
slave states continue being slave states as long as slavery was outlawed in any new states,
he knew that the country would not be able to endure if they were half slave and half free.
I believe a build up of tension from so many different events caused the Civil War, but I
think that the election of Abraham Lincoln was the most significant event that led to the
