longgone

Well, most people say it was over States Rights. But I think it was mainly over slavery. State's rights to do what? The state's rights to own slaves. Now, of course other things played their part in it, such as the Kansas Nebraska Act and the Missouri Compromise. It's a pet peeve of mine when people say the Union soldiers fought to free blacks. Most union soldiers enlisted because they believed the union should be preserved, most couldn't care less if the blacks were free or n...

if the blacks were free or not, they just wanted the country to remain whole

I'm going to the Gettysburg 150th next year, my unit is portraying the Iron Brigade at the railroad cut on the first day, and the Irish Brigade either on the 2nd or 3rd. (My unit is Irish anyway )

Iron Brigade FTW (I'm a Michigander, so I take great pride in the Iron Brigade). Indeed, slavery is at the heart of the issue, as is the preservation of the republic, since both revolved around preserving the American principles set forth in the Declaration and Constitution. The nation's fate was intertwined with those principles.