[ben parrish]

.Well, well, well. What a topic. While I do not agree with a lot of the things Pat believes, he is informed on the reasons for the War Between the States. It did not happen for the reasons we were taught in history class. Just as the history of American Indian treatment was seriously misrepresented to many of us.
The main issue of the war was to be able to control trade and thus taxes in the Southern states while delivering sparse services and support. The Southern States were tired of “Taxation without Representation” …sound familiar?????
There were more slaves in the Northern states than were ever in the Southern states. The fact is, most Southern farmers were simply too poor to afford to pay for slaves. It was far more cost effective to have many children to help tend to the fields. Now, prosperous Northern business men did have the money to purchase slaves to work in the factories. As a matter of fact, many "Southern Plantations" were owned or financed by Northern business men. The South had no way to consume all that cotton but the Northern textile mills could not produce products without it….follow the money.
Also, the abuse of slaves by owners was not a common practice; why would you beat, starve and torture your source of labor? This would be like a modern farmer neglecting their tractors, trucks, and combines...doesn't happen very often. The beatings and torture tactics were used by the slave traders and fellow African tribes that supplied the slaves to the world. To be exact, after the war was over, MOST former slaves CHOSE to stay with their former owners as employees. They would not have chosen this option if they were being mistreated.
Slavery was definitely a “hot” topic in the days leading up to the Civil War. All across the world, in most civilized nations, people started to realize that the practice of slavery was morally wrong. Let us not forget, slavery has been going on for thousands of years. All “great” societies from the beginning of time utilized slaves; Egyptians, Romans, Chinese, etc., etc. Somehow, United States citizens, have been brainwashed into believing that this was a travesty created by the Southern states… it is simply not true.

Slavery was wrong but the war was not about this..."spin doctors" of the time used this to stir emotions from a captive audience in the North. Slavery was on it's was out regardless of the Civil War.