Originally Posted by
logroller
Excellent post rev--indubitably, slavery was at the heart of secession. It did, however play a lesser role in the ensuing Civil War, at least initially. The division over the slavery issue riddled the political parties of their time; causing several, notably the whigs and freesoilers(?) to collapse altogether. The dems split north and south; leaving the radical republicans to capture control of House, Senate and Presidency. And with the lattermost, the election of Lincoln to the Presidency, secession was seen as the only alternative to preserving the southern way of life, which included slavery.
One passage of your's I would like to draw attention to: the mentioning of territory and interstate immunities (travel, property etc). That is a crucial aspect of the slavery dispute.
Tobacco and, especially, cotton had depleted much of the south's arable land; as such, expansion into new territories became necessary. Vast tracts of newly acquired territory in the early 19th century provided a heyday for new settlements. The south's plantation style farming, replete with slavery, was at odds with the homesteading style of subsistence agriculture. Think big business vs small business-- the nuances are quite similar. The southern plantation owner's, with their accumulated wealth, sought to vest their interests in the most profitable of these newly acquired lands. Unfortunately, a number of existing settlers weren't amicable to the southern way of life with its big plantations and slavery, whilst settlers were confined to the mediocre land and , and disputes gave way to violent and undemocratic behavior. Google Bleeding Kansas. The conflicting ways of life were as much a part of objection as slavery, and it was in the border states that these differences were of ripe concern. Consider rather you would support the union with armed secessionists running the town-- understandably, many were on the fence.
In fact, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation didn't apply to those four border states, nor any of the states which hadn't seceded. For the proclamation was done via Lincoln's capacity as CIC, not as POTUS. An executive order freeing slaves within the Union states would have surely garnered constitutional objection. It wasn't until the passage of the 13th Amendment that abolition was realized. The emancipation wasn't so much a wise political move but, rather, a military one-- they needed fresh troops, and newly freedmen jumped at the chance as the Union advanced.