The issue of slavery was a dead horse regardless, it was slowly dying, strangling under it own cost.
But certain fire eaters in the south refused to accept this, and they knew the only way to avoid losing money was to expand it into other territories.
Years ago I read a study conducted by someone who figured up the cost of subsidized manumission by the government versus to cost to the north fighting a 5 year war!
We would have been 5 or 6 times better off by buying them out and setting them free!😀
But it still riles me some to hear revisionist history claiming that the north waged a war for the purpose of freeing the slaves.
Lincoln in fact relieved 4 separate department commander for declaring slaves free in their department. Even after the emancipation proclamation took effect in the south, slaves still held in states in the union and southern territories under northern control were not effected at all!
Reon
I could be wrong but I thought that reason states argued over rather or not slavery would be legal in new states or territories that would eventually become states was because the South feared that if it wasn’t. That the North would gain the votes to impose their will on the South rather Constitutional or not.
