Did the 13 British Colonies have a right to secede from England? If they had a right to secede in 1776, did the Southern States gave the same right in 1861?
When the Southern States formed the Confederate States of America they were fighting for their independence from what they considered to be tyrannical. They did in 1861 what their ancestors did in 1776.
In the beginning Lincoln's goal was preserve the union. In his inaugural address he made it clear that it was not his intent to abolish slavery.
When asked "Why not let the South go in peace" Lincoln responded "I can't let them go. Who would pay for the government.?"
Most of the taxes collected before the outbreak of the Civil War up to 80% of the taxes generated came from south and the government could not have survived without the exploitation of the south.
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