The argument that the civil war began primarily as a southern fight to defend liberty and the right of self-government is unsatisfactory because

During the years leading up to the Civil War and in the beginning of the conflict, many of the leaders in the south made open statements that specifically mentioned the fact that slaves were considered a lesser class of citizen (if a citizen at all) and many state Constitutions explicitly mentioned that there shall be no law abrogating the concept of slavery being allowed in the southern states. The correct answer is it ignores the actual reason-slavery-southern leaders used in 1860-1861 to justify secession and war.

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