Hippy, how can you say slavery became an issue a couple of years into the Civil War? Have you studied the Texas Independence War? What about that Missouri Statehood problem. Oh, and don't forget about my man Fredrick Douglass and his friends. We're referencing the 1820's to 1850's. And as a sidebar , what year did John Brown have that altercation. And Alexander Stephens (yall's VP for the new country) as I have already noted on here said it was about slavery. Go read his Cornerstone Speech. Everybody have their own opinions , no problem. But I won't allow anyone to minimize what happened without me making a counter- comment.