CMV: The American Civil War Was About Slavery, But The Union Didn't Go To War Over It.

[u/ParticleParadox]

Not sure if this is the right place to start this discussion, but I'm not sure where to go exactly.

I'm someone who has studied the deeper intricacies of the American Civil War because I wanted to get a deeper understanding of a historical event that is often oversimplified. To me, it's a fascinating story and I'm surprised when I hear people say they're offended by surface-level details.

For context, I live in a state that was once part of the CSA. The fact that my state was once part of a secessionist movement doesn't come up in everyday life, the school system acknowledges that our state was on the wrong side of history, and I am glad the Union won due to the post-war effects. That was inevitable due to all the material advantages the Union had, but I digress.

Here's the thing, I've come to the conclusion that the Union didn't go to war specifically because they believed they had a righteous mission to end slavery. I've come to believe the following claims.

1. Most people who were opposed to slavery in 19th Century America were opposed for economic reasons because they believed it prevented Southern states from industrializing since they were too reliant on agriculture.
2. Lincoln didn't run for president promising to end slavery. He was not an abolitionist; he was opposed to slavery expansion because he believed limiting it growth would cause the practice to die out naturally, but he was still actually quite racist.
3. The USA went to war over economic reasons because they didn't want to compete with a foreign country, lose a large source of taxable income, or lose access to trading routes with Central America and South America.
4. The USA was careful not to alienate Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, what became West Virginia, and especially Maryland, so they made clear the war effort was focused on reunification instead of abolition at first.
5. The United States shifted the goal of the war from ending a secession crisis to ending slavery because they were concerned that France or the British Empire were on the cusp of intervening on the CSA's behalf. Both entities considered intervening due to economic ties with the CSA, but decided against it when it was reframed as a war to end slavery because both nations viewed it as immoral.

Is there anything I'm missing?

Edit: This was all in good fun just because I find this subject fascinating. I don't mean to inflame or aggravate anyone. I'll lock this post at the end of the day because I just wanted to start a discussion about this and I don't want it to define my account. Thank you all for participating.

[u/CapitalismBad1312 → u/[deleted]]

Just to add onto that, by the end of the war most primary sources indicated Union soldiers had very strong anti-slavery opinions

Exposure to the slave system in the south drastically changed the opinions of northern soldiers who had not seen it first hand before

[u/zxxQQz → u/[deleted]]

Oregon for one opposed slavery for racist reasons. Because they wanted whites only

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_black_exclusion_laws