I read your reference and I suggest you read it in context to what I wrote. As I said the economy of the South was tied to slavery and exports. I can see where you focus on slavery that is a very modern perspective but you ignore the assertion in your link that states are “nations” and thus entitled to pursue their self interest.

Keep in mind ending slavery would have required 75% of states to vote for a Constitutional amendment. There were 15 slave states out of 34. Math-wise the country would have needed 60 (45 free states) states to abolish slavery, we still do not have 60 states.


So the issue was not over abolishing slavery per se, but the fact that slave states had very different political interests tied to their export oriented slave based economy.