Searching for something else on the web, I found an interesting
Libertarian view of the causes of the Civil War by T. Groves.
There is some confusion over terms here. Yes, slavery was a reason, probably "the reason" that led to the southern states' succession. But, I don't know that a reason is the same as a cause. Seems to me that the issue of slavery was merely the pinnacle of a whole mess of problems, a litmus test of sorts.
There was much more dividing the south from the north in 1860 than simply slavery. There were two distinct cultures developing at that time. One agrarian or rural and one industrial or urban. These cultures have some distinctly different views on life. Individualism was part of the early American character, along with a strong desire for self governance.
As populations increase this attitude is lessened. It no longer seems reasonable to expect that everyone can have a voice in government. No longer can men function individually. Their happiness and safety become dependent upon others. A sanitation strike means garbage is piled in the streets, a teamster strike means the merchants run out of goods. Crime becomes a problem for law enforcement personnel.In such an inter-woven culture it can seem perfectly reasonable to surrender some liberties for the sake of order. It seems to me that the more dense a population becomes, the less concern there is over individual rights. The attitude becomes more of one, where "if it doesn't affect me it doesn't concern me."
In a rural society individualism is still practical. A farmer can live off of the fruit of their own labor. When a resource isn't available he either makes it or makes do without. It is expected that he defend his rights and property personally. There is no nearby government enforcer to curtail or enforce his individual rights. He has no time-clock or supervisor, he is required to be self disciplined. He fails or succeeds based on what he does. Therefore he does what seems best to him not what seems best to society. He'll tell no man what to do and tolerate no man telling him what to do.
Slavery was an issue. In 1860 you had one society condemning the practices of another. The Yankee didn't own slaves and was perfectly willing to go along with those who said the practice should be stopped. "Slavery made the nation look bad in the eyes of God and the world." So it seemed reasonable to the Yankee that those folks with slaves should get rid of them.
The Southerner was more intimately familiar with the problem. Slavery worked, and it didn't seem practical for the plantation owner to run a plantation without slaves. Additionally, slavery was legal and always had been, what right was it of anyone to tell his neighbor what to do. There were the practical problems of what do you do with the slaves if you free them and how do you compensate their owners. Slavery seemed necessary. This by no means meant that Southerners didn't oppose slavery. Many Southerners (no not all, many embraced slavery) saw the evils of slavery and worked to bring changes.
Prior to the war, there were more groups in the South then in the North that opposed slavery. They generally helped the Negro by purchasing the freedom of slaves and working for legislation that protected slaves. These groups were keenly aware of the plight of the free Negro, a plight that often seemed worse than that of a slave, and spent a great deal of their energy assisting freed men. Equal rights were more than a hundred years off, and most states (including some Northern) had laws that prohibited free blacks from immigrating, employment was difficult to come by, and free blacks were often forced into the most horrible situations.
Southerners were concerned over the fiery rhetoric of the Yankee abolitionist. The Yankee response to the violent actions of John Brown strengthened that concern and unified the South against the Yankee abolitionists. It appeared that the Yankees were so opposed to slavery that they were willing to curtail the rights of slave owners to end it, and indeed many were.
In a rural society neighbors are much more important than in the city. It is unthinkable not to come to the aid of a neighbor who was in need. When a band of villains threatened to take the legal rights of some Southerners away, it was only natural that the others stand beside them in protection of those rights whether they believed in them or not. Many believed slavery was a problem, but a problem best left to Southerners not some outside force. The Yankees didn't have slaves or even plantations, so what business was it of theirs, how dare they threaten the rights of a Southerner. Whether a man believed slavery was right or wrong was not the issue.
Indeed the South didn't secede because Lincoln freed the slaves, that didn't happen till after the war. The Southern States seceded because they felt disenfranchised with the Federal Union. The Southern States had long expressed concern that they were losing their voice in Congress. Southerners felt they had no say in the governing of the nation.
The election of Lincoln caused many Southerners to lose faith in the Federal Union. It illustrated for many, that the Federal government was beyond their control. No longer was the Union a government of the people, they had become a governed people. No one likes to be told what to do, especially a rural Southerner. When the Southern citizen saw that the government no longer heard his voice it became time to form a new government. No the South didn't secde because it wanted to keep its slaves. People felt like they were losing control of their own lives and slavery was the most glaring example. When the South saw its freedom at risk it decided to act.
Mr. Lincoln's War was about freedom, not the freedom of Negroes but the freedom of the South. Sadly, war did bring an end to Negro slavery. I say this not because I support slavery but because I abhor it. I regret that the rights and freedoms of so many had to be violated to achieve this noble result. I would rather that the slaves had risen up and cast off the yokes of their oppressors than that the States had been subjugated by Federal rule. The war may have freed the slaves from their masters rule, but its legacy has enslaved us all. No longer can we say we we govern ourselves, but we have inherited a government that requires more and more of our liberties.
